


Super Pen Pals Part II

by Kaylessa



Category: Miraculous Ladybug, Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Pen Pals AU, but Jim is terrible at explaining so there is confusion, it's pretty much Marinette hearing the Trollhunter story from the outside, mostly canon-compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:21:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 52,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27813712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaylessa/pseuds/Kaylessa
Summary: When I found Super Pen Pals by Ohshitmyship, I fell in LOVE with the idea and my brain positively BURST with the possibilities. With their permission, I present you the project that consumed most of my NaNoWriMo word count.(if you haven't, or don't want to, read Super Pen Pals, just know that Marinette and Jim became pen pals as part of a language exchange, became friends, then discovered identities. This picks up with the episode Hero With A Thousand Faces, the first episode after Jim's return from the Darklands, and will extend to the finale of Trollhunters, plus some bonus content beyond)
Relationships: Jim Lake Jr./Claire Nuñez, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Jim Lake Jr.
Comments: 226
Kudos: 120





	1. Hero with a Thousand Faces

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ohshitmyship](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ohshitmyship/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Super Pen Pals](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16262711) by [Ohshitmyship](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ohshitmyship/pseuds/Ohshitmyship). 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim isn't the only one to deal with rogue duplicates, right?

Jim: so, the news doesn’t always catch all of your battles, but you’ve had to deal with duplicates of yourself at LEAST once, right?

Marinette: Um...yes?  
Marinette: Once it was a time-travel thing, but that also meant there were duplicate akumas to deal with.  
Marinette: Another akuma made everyone she shot look like duplicates of HERSELF, so that was a little weird.  
Marinette: Actually, wait, that’s happened more than once, like with Stoneheart.  
Marinette: There was also the one who looked like Chat…

Jim: akumas can have really weird powers, huh?

Marinette: We are not talking about the pigeons again.

Jim: LOL!

Marinette: Back on topic, why do you ask?

Jim: *headdesk*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive how brief it is! Some chapters with little OOMF from the episode will be silly text convos like this. Other episodes with more emotional weight...? Yeah, there will be plenty o' words.


	2. Just Add Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette learns the word "gruesome" and that baby-care assignments aren't just things from American TV shows.

Marinette stared at her computer, confused. She was, truthfully, about 30 seconds away from opening Google Translate. “I’m...not sure I understood that right. You said this thing that feeds on _dead trolls_ is called a WHAT now?”

“A Gruesome?” Jim repeated. He scrunched his face in confusion, “I don’t know the exact translation, but something like... _répugnant? Horrible?_ The name is just another English word for...yuck. And it really, really fits. Like, this thing was just this vaguely human-shaped slime.”

“How did you fight something like that? I know it can be...difficult,” she cringed, remembering the Horrificator incident.

“Well, Blinky got this...grenade-rock he called a dorkstone-”

“ _Dork_ stone? Okay, now I KNOW, I am not understanding that correctly. Like idiot stone?”

Jim laughed, maybe a little harder than Marinette thought the joke was actually worth, but she let him work himself out, kind of smiling in second-hand amusement. “Okay,” he finally breathed. “Okay, okay. I know I’m not saying it right, because Blinky was giving us a lot of grief for it earlier, but I swear, I can’t hear the difference between what HE’S saying and, well, DORKstone. Maybe it’s a troll thing. Whatever. The POINT is, the thing blows up like a grenade. So I corner the Gruesome in the bathroom at the museum-”

“Why the museum?” she couldn’t help but interrupt. Jim had a tendency to just...jump to the exciting bits of whatever story he wanted to tell without giving any kind of proper _context_ , so Marinette either had to smile and nod along like she knew what he was talking about, or she had to drag him back to explain.

“Oh! Right! Gruesomes feed on dead trolls, right? Which, to most people, just looks like rock. Toby even kept a piece of Bular in his rock collection-”

Marinette _definitely_ made a face at that. Just carrying around a piece of _corpse?!_ Of someone you actually KNEW?! Bad guy or not, that was just... _ick!_

“-and the Gruesome actually went after that bit first, which is how we knew it was gonna be a problem. Toby had seen that the local museum was going to be holding a rock show and the centerpiece was this gigantic thing that he thought looked like a troll arm, then Blinky _confirmed_ it was a troll arm, so we knew that’s where the Gruesome was gonna go next! So Claire, Tobes, and I go there and I manage to corner it in the bathroom after Steve had spilled his protein shake on me or whatever-” Marinette left that one alone. Whatever Steve had to do with the story probably wasn’t important. “And it was actually REALLY gross because it kept travelling between _toilets._ I try to get it with the dorkstone, but all that did was blow up my baby and then THAT-”

“JIM! What do you mean, _your baby?!”_

He did that thing where he stopped to blink and realize he’d left out an important detail. Again.

“Oh right!! It was an assignment for Coach Lawrence! See, he gave us these bags of flour to take care of with our partners for 24 hours, to learn what it’s like to take care of a baby. Or something. Me and Claire were partners, and Toby got partnered with his girlfriend, too! He and Darci were much better parents.”

Marinette gave him a quizzical expression. “Wait...I’ve heard of that kind of thing on American TV shows. You’re telling me that’s _real?_ Teachers actually assign things like that?”

“Coach Lawrence does, apparently,” he laughed ruefully. “And we had to take them with us everywhere, so I had Petunia with me at the museum and _may_ have accidentally blown her up when I was trying to get the Gruesome.”

This time, Marinette could laugh at that image. Blowing up a bag of flour? Yeah, she can _definitely_ relate.

“Here’s the thing, though!” he laughed, trying to explain. “The flour all up in the air actually _hurt_ the thing! It got all brittle and ran away!”

Marinette giggled, “I guess I’m always protected from...groo-sums, then! I’ve got flour on me pretty much all day, every day!”

“At a bakery? Yeah, that’ll do it! Thing is, I’d just killed our flour baby, and the Gruesome wasn’t dead yet. We needed more flour, and the only place we could get it was-”

“Oh no!” Marinette suddenly realized, clapping a hand over her mouth. “Toby’s baby!”

Jim laughed. “Yup! He basically had to grab Sir Isaac Gluten from Darci and run away.”

“Wait, what? What did you call it?” 

“Hah! They named their baby Sir Isaac Gluten. We just named ours Petunia, because it’s a flower.”

“Riiiiight. Maybe you could have called it Clint Yeastwood. Or maybe Olivia Gluten John.”

Jim blinked, then laughed. “Oh. Oh! Hey, those are good! I’m not gonna tell Claire, though, because she wanted something clever and I’m not great at puns.”

Marinette struck a pose with one fist on her hip and the other just under her chin. “Chat Noir’s not the only one that can come up with awful puns! Oh wait! What about Danny DeWheato?” She laughed at her own joke, then leaned back in for the rest of the story. “What happened next, though? Toby stole a baby from its mother’s arms-”

“Hey now, that makes it sound even _worse!_ ”

“-and just...wait, what’s the word... _yeets_ it at the monster?”

“Actually? Pretty much, yeah.” Jim stopped and got a confused look on his face. “At least, that’s what we _thought?_ Like, that’s what Toby said happened, and the Gruesome was taken care of and gone. But then Claire found Sir Isaac Gluten-” Marinette snorted at the name again. “-unhurt, which basically saved Toby and Darci’s relationship.”

“She doesn’t know about all of this, then?” she couldn’t help but ask. She knew that Tobias had been in the loop since day one, but Jim had kind of implied that Claire had known for only a couple weeks longer than she herself had. Something about goblins swearing revenge on her life.

Jim shook his head. “Nah. They’re already having to take it kind of slow. Pretty sure the whole Trollhunting business would put a stop to that really quick. Plus, I think Claire is trying to put off Mary and Darci finding out for as long as possible, because she’s never going to hear the end of it. And when Mary knows? The whole WORLD knows. And really, _Claire_ only found out because of the whole goblin-vengance thing, and my MOM only found out because Angor Rot attacked us at the house while she was there. That was…” he grimaced. “Yeah, that went way off the rails. Between getting hurt and getting the binding taken off between her and Strickler, it’s a good thing she doesn’t remember any of that.”

Marinette could tell he was re-living some painful memories. Angor Rot happened before Jim went into the Darklands, right? She may be missing a detail or two, but she knew things with Angor Rot had gotten pretty serious. It was honestly kind of a tragic story all the way around, at least from what Tikki knew about the ancient assassin. 

“Well!” She clapped her hands together, startling Jim a bit out of whatever thoughts he’d gotten sucked into. “I’m glad I figured it out on my own, then, so that’s one less thing you have to stress about!”

“Hey,” he glared at her good-naturedly. “You had some really unfair advantages to that! Timeless luck goddess whispering in your ear and everything.” 

She just flipped her hair in the most dramatic way she could, playing up the theatrics by a LOT, if only to try and bring him out of his funk. You could maybe call it habit, because one less person feeling down on themselves is one less akuma for her to deal with, but this was most definitely a case of her just caring about her friend. “YOU just underestimate my detective skills, _Monsieur_ James Lake Jr.!”

“Okay, you always make me feel like I’m in trouble whenever you use my whole name like that. I should never have given you that ammunition to use against me, _Marinette Dupain-Cheng_.”

Marinette wrinkled her nose at that. “Oh no, don’t say it like that. You sound like Chloé.”

Jim immediately threw his hands up in surrender, “Yikes! Nevermind! So sorry!” he laughed, and then it was apparent he’d checked the time because he groaned. “Ah man, I’m gonna have to go. I’m supposed to train with Blinky soon, but Queen Usurna’s been sniffing around, so we have to make sure that I’m at the top of my game. I kind of wish we could train anywhere else, but you can’t really beat the Forge at being unpredictable…”

“I dunno, I think you should try a few akumas on for size,” Marinette quipped, getting another laugh out of him. 

“Oh, by the way, I probably won’t be able to talk tomorrow, either; all three of us got detention.”

“Oh no, what happened? Why do you have detention?”

“Got caught taking Señor Uhl’s truck for a joyride, but it was actually a bunch of gnomes that we had just barely bagged.”

Marinette flopped her face into her hands, groaning. “JIM! You are the _worst_ storyteller!”

***

The next day, Marinette was treated to a _flood_ of ridiculous pictures of Jim and his classmates.

“I don’t think detention in America means the same thing that it does here…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The whole "Jim is terrible at telling stories" is entirely too much fun and you will definitely be seeing it again.


	3. Unbecoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim really isn't great at the "reset" thing, especially with what his friends do and don't know...

Marinette got a text alert and checked her phone like usual when she got a _very_ strange message from Jim.

Jim: i need you to call me as soon as possible because youre the only one that will get what im going through right now and im really freaking out

Concerned, Marinette did as he asked and called immediately instead of texting a reply back. She was sketching at the park near her house, so she opted for a phone call instead of a video message; it was a little more private that way, and it turned out to be a good thing, too!

As soon as Jim picked up the phone, he was speaking rapid-fire, “Oh my god, Marinette, I don’t know what to do, I’m kind of really freaking out and I tried explaining it to Tobes but he doesn’t believe me but why _would_ he, he doesn’t remember any of this but-”

“Jim!” Marinette _had_ to interrupt the non-stop spill of words. “Jim, _s'il vous plaît!_ Slow down! I can’t understand anything you’re saying! Take a breath!”

He actually did so, took a few deep breaths, before starting again. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay,” she soothed. “Just slow down and tell me what’s wrong?”

“It’s just that something REALLY weird happened to me recently, and you’re the only one who will get it, because of the whole you being Ladybug thing-”

Marinette felt a _shock_ like a bolt of electricity shooting through her. In a panic, she yanked the phone away from her ear and hung up, not hearing anything else that Jim might have been saying over the buzzing in her ears. Scrambling to gather up her sketchbook and pencils, she dashed for the gate out of the park and into the side door of the bakery, looking to bypass her parents so she could avoid explaining her sudden urgency. Luckily they were both busy in the store, so they didn’t notice her taking the stairs at a run. Her phone started ringing and she quickly declined the call, rounding the banister to dash into the living room and then up the ladder to her own room, somehow only feeling like she could _breathe_ once the trapdoor had been shut. Her phone rang again, but it was a text alert this time. And again. A longer pause before it chimed a third time.

Marinette reached to her purse and snapped it open, allowing Tikki to fly out into the open. “Marinette! What is it? What’s wrong? What did Jim say?”

She stared, wide-eyed and face white, and was torn between pacing in agitation and slumping to the floor in shock. She finally compromised by marching to her chez lounge to sit and then tap her feet frantically. “Tikki, he called me Ladybug.”

“Marinette!” the kwami sounded shocked, “you _told_ him?”

“Of course not! I promised you I wouldn’t! I didn’t tell him, but he called all frantic and said something about how I was the only one that would understand because I’m Ladybug and then I panicked and hung up!”

“How could he know, then?”

“I don’t _know!”_ Marinette wailed, throwing her hands up and flopping backwards, head and arms hanging off the back of her lounge.

“Well, what is he saying now? Is that him texting you?”

“Probably?” Marinette hedged before looking at her phone as if it were explosive. From just her lockscreen, she could see that yes, it was Jim that had texted her the last three times. Hesitating just a moment more, she sat back up and crossed her legs under her to unlock her phone and look at her messages.

Jim: wait marinette i can explain!  
Jim: im so sorry please let me explain

Jim: ask tikki about the trollhunter thats me

Reading over her wielder's shoulder, Tikki gasped at not only being mentioned by _name_ (only other Miraculous holders should even know she _exists_ , much less what her actual NAME is!) but also what he was claiming for himself.

“Troll hunter?” Marinette asked, confused. “What on earth is a troll hunter and how would that explain THIS? How does he know your _name?_ ”

“THE Trollhunter,” Tikki carefully. “I’ve never heard of a human Trollhunter and he says he is…?”

“What does that even mean, though?”

Tikki could tell that she was stressing out, with the sudden revelation that her Ladybug secret apparently _wasn’t_ so secret? So instead of suggesting they go to Master Fu, whom Marinette hadn’t even MET yet, she decided to explain herself. “For starters, trolls are real. They’re very old, magical creatures made of living stone and they cannot go out into the daylight or else they’ll be turned to statues. They’ve been living in secret from humans since the time of Arthur Pendragon, when there had been a final battle between humans and bad trolls. The Trollhunter is the title of their greatest warrior, someone who not only protects good trolls from bad trolls- they’re called Gumm-Gumms -but also keeps the existence of trollkind secret from humans. The very first Trollhunter, Deya the Deliverer, banished all the Gumm-Gumms and their leader, Gunmar, into a different realm. Every Trollhunter since has been charged with making sure they never return.”

Marinette watched her kwami with wide eyes as the story unfolded, then she looked back down to stare at her phone in disbelief, rereading the words. “And Jim says _he’s_ the Trollhunter? But still, why would he know about me?” She looked back up at Tikki, “What do trolls have to do with the Miraculous?”

Tikki shrugged her little shoulders, “I still don’t know how he knows you’re Ladybug, but there are trolls who have held _different_ Miraculous gems in the past. Just never the Ladybug earrings.”

The phone chimed again twice in a row and Marinette looked down to see another two texts from Jim pop up beneath the others.

Jim: marinette im so sorry i promise your secret is safe just please call me so i can explain  
Jim: its just a lot easier to explain out loud than with text

After hearing the exposition she’d already gotten from Tikki, Marinette could only imagine how hard it would be to explain something like this.

She looked up at her kwami, who’d also read the messages, and met her eyes. Tikki shrugged with a small hesitant smile that said something like “I guess we’re doing this” and Marinette carefully pressed the video call button. She had a feeling they were _both_ going to be waving their arms around a lot like they did when they got agitated. 

Jim answered immediately, the first words out of his mouth actually cut off because he didn’t let the call connect properly. “-o unbelievably sorry, Marinette! I know I probably freaked you out and I didn’t mean to please forgive me!”

She couldn’t help but crack a smile at her friend’s effusive apology. “I’ll forgive you if you can tell me what the heck is going on with the Trollhunter business and how you know about me.”

He grimaced and rubbed the back of his head, “How much did Tikki tell you?”

 _“Oui,_ see, you need to explain THAT, too!” Marinette pointed sternly at her screen. “How do you even know ABOUT Tikki, much less her name?!”

Jim laughed nervously, “It’s kind of all under the same explanation, but short answer? Time travel.” He paused while Marinette gaped speechlessly. “I think?” Which just caused her jaw to drop even lower. “I’m sorry, you always say I’m a terrible storyteller, so that’s probably a bad place to start.”

His saying so confused her even MORE, because maybe Marinette had _thought_ as much about Jim’s storytelling skills, but she’d never felt so rude (or maybe comfortable) to say as much out loud. “Tell him to start at the beginning,” Tikki suggested. “If being the Trollhunter will explain how he knows about you, start there.”

Marinette nodded, but decided not to mention Tikki. It still unnerved her that he even _knew_ about Tikki. “Why don’t you start the story from the beginning, about you being the Trollhunter? It’s apparently unusual that you’re a human Trollhunter? I know it’s a title for a hero that’s meant to protect humans and good trolls from…” she glanced at Tikki, who quickly supplied the right word, “Gumm-Gumms, and also to keep trolls a secret from humans?”

Jim was nodding along. “Yeah, all of that. But there’s never been a human Trollhunter before, ever, so me being the first caused kind of...a lot of...uproar,” he finally finished. “I still tried my best and everything, but bad stuff still happened, and I got blamed for it all because it’s MY job to, you know, _not_ let bad things happen. So the Tribunal wanted to put me on trial and locked me up before they did and that’s when...things kind of got weirder than usual.” He looked back at the screen and Marinette nodded to show she was following along. She didn’t necessarily know what ‘the Tribunal’ meant, but it sounded like it was something, or someone, with power who could decide to punish someone who was supposed to be their greatest hero. “I’m not proud of this next bit, but I kind of threw a tantrum,” he laughed at himself, rubbing the back of his head. “I was saying things at the Amulet like if this is what it wanted, to hurt everyone and ruin my life. Then I said something like how it was a mistake that I ever picked it up in the first place.”

“What amulet?” Marinette asked, to clarify.

“Oops!” Tikki squeaked. “Forgot that part.”

“The Amulet of Daylight,” Jim explained. “It was made by Merlin to choose the Trollhunter and give them magical armor and a sword.”

“Can I see it?” Marinette asked curiously. A magical object made by Merlin? _That_ Merlin? Tikki HAD mentioned that the Trollhunter went as far back as King Arthur, so it maybe made sense? If she believed it?

But Jim cringed at her request, “Ehhhh...not really? Because, you see, that part where I wished I never picked it up in the first place? Wish kinda got granted.”

Marinette was just about ready to resign herself to being _completely_ lost for this entire conversation. She stared at her phone blankly, “Wait, _quoi?”_

“This is what I meant about time travel!” Jim rushed to explain. “I’d wished I had never picked the Amulet up in the first place, right? And then I got...visited, I guess, by the spirit of one of the past Trollhunters, Unkar the Unfortunate.” The name got a raised eyebrow, but otherwise Marinette kept silent. “He said I wasn’t the first time the Amulet had made a mistake. He said he was gonna give me what he never got, a second chance. Next thing I know, there’s a flash of light and I’m out of the cage and waking up in my own bed. I was just...back at the beginning, and it was the morning when I’d found the Amulet, only this time I _didn’t_ pick it up and just went to school like normal. So now I DON’T have it, but I totally remember _being_ the Trollhunter, even if no one else does!”

Marinette sat back, eyes staring at the far wall of her room, trying to take it all in. “I just...hang on, I just need a minute…”

Jim laughed kind of ruefully. “Yeah, I get that. It’s kind of a lot.”

It really was. It also kind of...hit very close to home. Her very first mission as Ladybug, when Ivan had been turned into Stoneheart, she’d been so scared of messing up, so _sure_ that there had been a mistake. Alya would for SURE make a better superhero (Marinette still thought that her best friend would make for an amazing superhero, even if she no longer wished for it to be in HER place instead) and she’d even tried to make that happen. But...had she regretted it that much ever since? She’d been so new, of _course_ she’d been scared! But she’d faced Stoneheart, his clones, and finally Papillon that day to come out on top, giving hope to Paris. She hadn’t felt that same level of unworthiness since. Sure, there were nights when the patrol went long and all she wanted was sleep, or there were akumas that were devilishly tricky that made her literally scream with frustration, but she hadn’t wanted to give up the earrings again. Even so…

“What is it like…?” she finally asked quietly.

“What do you mean? Living the same days over again?” He sat up a little straighter. “You believe me, then?”

Marinette laughed at the idea, “Well, yeah, that. I know I could use a few do-over days. Kind of a lot of them, actually…and you presented some _pretty_ convincing evidence to help me make up my mind! Even if Ladybug is a public figure, no one else knows that she gets her superpowers from anything but the earrings, so you not only knowing _about_ Tikki, but also knowing her NAME like it’s not a big deal is actually kind of a huge deal. Not only that, but I’ve had to deal with one time-traveling Akuma before, so I guess that made it easier?”

Jim’s shoulders slumped in relief. “See? This is EXACTLY what I meant when I said you’re the only one who would understand what I’m going through! Akumas do weird stuff like this all the time!”

Marinette laughed and shook her head, but couldn’t actually argue with his logic. She still wanted to know, though, “But I meant what it’s like knowing you had that kind of...not just power, but also responsibility? Knowing you _had_ all that, and then gave it up for someone else. Who’s the Trollhunter now, even, if you aren’t?”

Jim’s expression had shown that he’d been thinking seriously about her first question regarding losing that responsibility, but then her last one caught him by surprise. “You know...I don’t actually know? It’s probably…” he went quiet, looking to the side, “...I hope it’s Draal.”

“Who?” Marinette asked, just as quietly. Whoever it was, they meant something important to Jim.

“Draal the Deadly. He’s the son of the last Trollhunter, Kanjigar. Draal kind of... _really_ hated my guts when we first met. ‘cause, you know, his dad had just died, which is awful by itself, but Draal had also been thinking for a REALLY long time that he would be the next Trollhunter. It was all he wanted, to have that honor, and then instead it went to ME, a skinny little fleshbag-” Marinette wrinkled her nose at the word, not sure she was understanding the English correctly, and if she was, it sounded gross. “-and he didn’t exactly handle the news well. It took us a while, but he eventually came to respect me, and even train me. Draal...he’s one of my closest friends, along with Blinky and Aaarrrgghh, they’re practically family to me, and now none of them even remember me…” Something in his expression told Marinette that he hadn’t quite thought about that yet, only just now realizing the repercussions of the wish he’d made.

“Oh Jim, I’m sorry,” she said, because what else COULD you say to that? To Jim, it felt like he was living in a world where everyone had amnesia _except_ for him. Even her, she realized with a jolt. The way he’d so _casually_ called her Ladybug had taken at LEAST a year off her life, but they had obviously shared that with each other in Jim’s memory. “We must have gotten pretty close, too, if I shared my secret with you?”

Jim smiled at her. “Yeah, you kind of figured me out first when I had a run-in with a big, bad troll assassin named Angor Rot. I think you told me Tikki recognized his mark and that’s how you found out. Then you up and told me so we each had someone to confide in. And...to answer your earlier question,” Marinette blinked, almost having forgotten that she’d asked a much more serious question earlier before getting distracted by Draal’s story. “It’s hard to explain. On the one hand, I’m not going to mess things up so badly that Gunmar gets let out because I’m an idiot. That will keep people safe, right? That’s what this was all about, so everything isn’t ruined by my mistakes. But on the other hand…” he rubbed at his face in frustration. “This is gonna sound SO selfish, but it _meant_ something to me to be able to help and make a difference. Some days it was ridiculous stuff like catching gnomes for Bagdwella, and other days it was saving Claire from a pack of goblins. I...I _like_ helping people, you know?” 

Jim looked up to meet her eyes, and she nodded, because she DID know. Even before this sudden wild conversation, she’d known from the very beginning that Jim loved to help his mother, loved to cook for Tobias and his Nana, did his best to look out for his classmate Eli, even helped HER with not just improving her English, but also with regular everyday advice about school and her crush and life in general. She knew all of this about him, but she also related to it herself. That was maybe the greatest, _deepest_ thrill of being Ladybug. Helping people that were scared, angry, hurt, people that get taken advantage of for the audacity of having _emotions_ , all so Papillon could have his way. Marinette loved helping those people come back to themselves, most especially loved being able to throw her Lucky Charm in the air and just FIX it all. And maybe she’s made lots of mistakes, but nothing so terrible as what Jim was describing. So much she couldn’t fathom the low that had brought him to this point, to choosing to save everyone he loved from something they wouldn’t even know, now.

“It’s not a bad thing to love helping people,” she assured her friend. “That’s what good people do, right? They help other people the best they can. It just so happens that sometimes a little magic comes along to make a few of us capable of being able to help even MORE.” Tikki floated up to press against her cheek, a comforting solace. Marinette cupped her hand there to hold her kwami. “I get that you made mistakes, Jim, and I can’t judge if you made the right choice to give up the Amulet or not, but promise me that you won’t ever stop trying to help people because you’re afraid you’ll mess up.” With a smile, she repeated one of the first things her best friend ever said to her, “‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,’ you know.” She could see Jim sit up a little straighter, eyes going wide with the weight of her words. 

“I... _merci_ , Marinette. I’m really touched. I haven’t really thought about what I _will_ do now that I’m not the Trollhunter anymore,” he looked away for a moment, quiet and thinking, before looking back. “But I needed a reminder that...that I don’t need a magical amulet to give me armor and a sword to help people. Thank you, seriously. That helps a lot.”

Marinette smiled even wider. “I’m really glad!” She held up one hand and pointed it at the screen. “Okay! Now the important part!”

Jim looked startled for a moment, taken aback, “What important part? I thought we just finished talking about some kind of really important things?”

She flapped her hand in dismissal, though. “No! None of that!” She schooled her features to be as serious (and possibly threatening?) as possible before saying, “Now, you must tell me EVERYTHING that happens in the future! _Especially_ any akumas I’d told you about!”

There was a beat of stunned silence before Jim burst out laughing. Full on, head thrown back, the camera losing focus because he was shaking so hard, the kind of laugh that only came after a major stress had been lifted. Of course Marinette and Tikki had to join in.

***

For a while after that crazy conversation, it was _incredibly_ freeing to Marinette to be able to share every detail that was the life of Ladybug with someone who she could trust. Tikki was an excellent confidant, no doubt about it, but Jim was not just another teenager, but someone who could _relate_ to trying to balance a normal life on top of heavy responsibility. At first, he would swap anecdotes with her, the Trollhunter things he had once done with his team of friends, human and troll alike. Marinette badly wanted to know what trolls looked like, but Jim was no artist and had no way of taking pictures of them now. The best they could do was one memorable evening when he tried to describe his friend Blinky to her as she attempted to sketch. In the end, she came up with something she honestly had trouble believing made any _sense_ , but not only did Jim compliment her on such a good likeness (“You could have a career as a police sketch artist if fashion and superheroing doesn’t work out! You’ve got options!”) but Tikki agreed there was indeed a species of troll that looked like that, six eyes, four arms and all.

“You said his skin is blue, but his nose is _orange?_ ” When Jim agreed, Marinette looked sternly between her computer, her kwami, and the drawing, before finally declaring, “I think you’re both punking me right now,” before snapping her sketchbook shut. Jim began to make an offended protest before he spotted her little grin.

“Maybe we should do Aaarrrgghh next,” Jim suggested. “He probably looks a lot more like what _you’re_ thinking a troll should look like. Big and...big. Aaarrrgghh is seriously huge.”

“What kind of name is ‘Argh,’ anyway?” Marinette asked while she actually took care to put her sketchbook away. It was different from her usual fashion sketchbook and was kept a little closer to her heart. Maybe next time she could do a sketch of Tikki so Jim could see what the little goddess of luck looked like, since the kwami didn’t show up in video or pictures.

“Aaarrrgghh,” Jim repeated, holding up three fingers. “Three R’s. It’s very important.” The sudden realization of how ridiculous the whole conversation was sent Marinette into peals of laughter, dragging Jim and Tikki along with her. 

As time went on, though, Jim wasn’t sharing his Trollhunter stories with her as much. He still paid attention to her own battles with rapt focus, but every time he started to talk about that time Blinky became human, or that time Toby let a gnome to live in a doll house, an expression would cross his face and he’d finish the story short, cutting off when Marinette was sure there was more to it. She couldn’t help but wonder if maybe reliving the life he didn’t have anymore had begun to hurt more than remembering helped. She didn’t push, didn’t want to rub salt in a still-healing wound. 

The last time they talked, Jim didn’t mention trolls or goblins or gnomes or any of it. Marinette worried about that, wondering if maybe she should have tried to get him to open up more about it, to see if she could maybe help him with the hurt, the same way he lightened her burden just by listening. 

But she didn’t have time to worry about that at the moment. An akuma was on the loose, Chat Noir had moved to flank it, using Cataclysm as a distraction while she moved in with the Lucky Charm, a red-and-black spotted horseshoe (Jim had called them a giggle-whatsit-again?), seeing the path to victory before her eyes when-!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if that was confusing at the beginning, but it's not like Marinette KNEW there was a time reset, right? And I know that Unbecoming was more of a vision for Jim than time actually resetting, but it seemed like too much fun to look at it from Marinette's perspective, to give the poor girl a heart-attack, lol!


	4. Night Patroll

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim faces his hang-ups on fighting his friends. Luckily (lol) he has contacts with someone who’s pretty much an expert at it...

Marinette was just finishing telling the story of the Puppeteer and how the little girl she babysat had basically used dolls to re-akumatize past victims, including her friend Alya. Jim had to admit, at least privately, that of the different forms of villains that Ladybug and Chat Noir took on, Alya had definitely scored one of the cooler ones. Not all of her classmates could say as much.

“And it wasn’t even really HER that was akumatized this time! It’s not fair when one akuma gets the power to, I don’t know, recreate old akumas. I’m just glad to have her back, honestly,” Marinette finished with a kind of relieved sigh. “I get that it’s not her fault and that she wasn’t  _ really _ angry with me, but still…”

“How do you do it?” Jim suddenly asked.

“Huh? Do what?”

He took a steadying breath, trying to come off as casual. “How do you fight your friends when they’re turned against you like that?”

Marinette sighed, tilting her head to the side as she seriously considered the question. “It...was kinda hard, at first. The very first akuma was my classmate, Ivan, you know? And normally, he can be big and intimidating, but he’s really just a softie, so it’s not like he was TRYING to hurt anyone, and I didn’t want to, either. But eventually I realized that I’m actually fighting FOR them. Papillon uses a brief moment of terrible emotion to make them into something they don’t actually want to be because of his own selfish reasons. So I fight to get their freedom back.” She gave a sad sort of smile. “Doesn’t always make it easy, but I can’t-” but then she cut off, looking at a space in the air, which usually meant that Tikki was saying something. Marinette’s face suddenly changed to concern when she looked back at her computer. “Wait, Jim, did something happen?”

He was prepared for all of two seconds to brush off her question before deciding there was no point to it. His shoulders sagged and he dropped his face into his hands.

“Thanks a lot, Tikki,” he mumbled.

Marinette couldn’t help but frown a bit. “ _ Oui, merci, _ Tikki! Please talk to me, Jim!”

He dropped his hands, but he continued to stare down at his desk. “...it’s Draal…” he finally admitted.

“Your troll friend?” she asked, just to clarify. It was usually pretty easy to tell which of his friends were human and which were not from their names, but then you throw “changelings” into the mix and...Marinette just liked to be sure. But he confirmed she was right by nodding. “Jim, what happened to him?”

He had to take another deep, steadying breath before looking back up to see his friend’s concerned face. “Blinky says he went to the forest to check for signs of Gunmar. Later on, I was almost finished with Saturday detention when Draal showed up and...and he attacked me.” Marinette gasped, but didn’t interrupt. “Gunmar’s sword, the Decimar Blade-” this time it was Tikki that gasped, though Jim couldn’t hear it, “-has this ability to transform the mind, and even the body, to follow his will. He even tried it on me, in the Darklands, but my armor protected me. But Draal…” He furiously scrubbed his hands over his face before looking up again, eyes pleading as he asked once more, “How do you do it, Marinette? How do you fight your friends?”

Marinette could  _ see _ how much pain this was causing Jim, and she could definitely relate. She...actually! “Well! You just so happen to be looking at the world’s leading expert on fighting brainwashed friends!” She struck a very “academic” pose, one hand stroking an imaginary beard while the other adjusted imaginary glasses. The laugh she got out of Jim was a weak one, but she was still going to count it as a win. She offered him a gentle smile as she continued, “But seriously, the number one thing to remember is that you’re fighting to get  _ them _ back. And...well, I don’t know Draal. Tell me about him? How would he feel about this?”

Jim looked to the side and huffed another weak laugh. “He would be  _ so _ pissed. Like, the whole point of there even  _ being _ a Trollhunter is to defeat Gunmar, right? And Draal’s spent most of his LIFE wanting to be the Trollhunter. Did I tell you that his father had the amulet before me?” Marinette’s eyes went wide as she shook her head. “Yeah, it was kind of awkward for a while. Draal...pretty much hated my guts when we first met. His dad had just died, you know? And he was expecting to be the next one to take up the mantle. When it went to a puny little fleshbag, well…” Jim grimaced and scrubbed the back of his neck. “It took kind of a major fight between us before we could be okay. I mean, I seriously thought I was gonna die. But then...he offered to protect my mother and me instead of revenge. He started to train me how to use a sword, helped us on missions, and when we went after Bular and the bridge, that’s when he lost his arm. He pulled the Amulet of Daylight from the bridge, which shut down the portal, but it turned his arm to stone. And he  _ still... _ that never stopped him. Blinky is a great mentor and all, but Draal is really who’s been teaching me to be a warrior. To fight against him now…”

“I mean…” Marinette started, hesitantly. “Like I said, I don’t know him very well, but it sounds to me like he’s very honorable. This is just a guess, but do you think he would tell you to fight as hard as you need to in order to defeat Gunmar?” Jim was quiet, but nodded his head. “You could put yourself in his shoes? If he were the Trollhunter and  _ you _ were taken over, would you want him to hold back for you?” She could see from Jim’s grimace that it was kind of a scary thought. She wondered if she could ask him for pictures of his friends, human and troll, just so she could have an idea of what they looked like when he told these stories. “Or maybe! Maybe, if he could tell you what he thinks of the situation, what do you think he would say?”

“You know…he’d probably be mad at me for even hesitating. Because you’re right, he  _ is _ honorable. It means a lot to him. So much that even when he was banished from Trollmarket for losing to me, he still vowed to protect my home; he didn’t need to do that. Honestly? If he could, he’d probably beat  _ himself _ up for being on Gunmar’s side right now…”

“So don’t you think he’ll forgive you if you don’t hold back?”

“His dad might not…” Jim couldn’t help but mutter. When he saw Marinette’s confused look, he elaborated, “It’s actually possible for me to talk to past Trollhunters sometimes. It’s mostly been Kanjigar, because he’s who came before me, but he  _ definitely _ chewed me out for getting Draal hurt when he lost his arm. It’s...nevermind, that’s a complicated relationship right there. Kanjigar did what he thought was best, but anyway. Would Draal forgive me…?” He leaned his forehead into his palm. “I...think he would. I’m sure he hates being controlled by Gunmar. I just wish there was a way to free him…”

Jim couldn’t see it, but Marinette glanced at Tikki, meeting eyes with her kwami. All the little creature could do was shrug her shoulders, though; this wasn’t an akuma they were dealing with, and the Decimar Blade wasn’t a Miraculous.

“...I wish I’d thought to ask Vendel about Gunmar’s magic before…”

“Wait,” Marinette had to stop him. This sounded serious. “Before what? What happened to Vendel? He’s the elder of Trollmarket, right?”

Jim suddenly looked back at the screen, alarmed. “Oh no, I haven’t told you that yet? It was...oh jeez. He died. Was killed. Queen Usurna...she turned out to be on Gunmar’s side and when I was on trial-”

“On  _ trial? _ Jim! Does that mean what I think it means? And what do you mean, Vendel was killed? When did this happen?” Marinette threw her arms in the air, alarmed all of a sudden by the number of shocking pieces of news she was getting at once.

Jim scrubbed his face (again. This was becoming a habit), “I’m sorry. So much happened at once and I didn’t really get a chance to talk to you until now, and with Draal’s attack on Trollmarket and you were telling me about your friend Alya, that was kind of on my mind-”

“Jim,  _ s’il vous plait _ , slow down! Just, one thing at a time, what’s happened since the last time we talked?”

“I…” her friend looked lost for a moment, his eyes darting back and forth in the air above his computer, and then he sighed. “I’m sorry. There’s kind of been a lot that happened, and I know you get how stressful this kind of thing can be. I kind of just like listening to how things in Paris always work out in the end, when you’re able to bring your friends back to their senses. That’s nice to hear about, you know? I hate to bring that down with-”

“Don’t you do that, James Lake, Jr.!” Marinette pointed a finger very sternly at her computer. “Don't even start! Don’t start holding back on me just because you don’t want me to worry! We support each other, remember? All that talk about how I understand what you’re going through? So,  _ allons! _ ” She clapped her hands sharply together before folding them under her chin. “Tell me!”

Her antics got another weak little laugh out of Jim (another win!) before he sighed and started from the beginning. “So I told you about my Saturday detention, right…? Draal coming to attack me there is when we really knew Gunmar was out. We’d worried before and there were other signs, like with blood goblins and Gruesomes, but that’s when we finally knew. Usurna had me arrested right when we got back to Trollmarket…” and so he relayed what an absolutely  _ insane _ few days he’d had, going straight from Draal’s attack to being arrested, Merlin giving him a vision of sorts of how an alternate timeline could have been-

“Yeah, time-travel is really weird,” Marinette offered sagely. Jim had looked at her weird. Then pointed at her through the computer screen.

“Remind me to ask about that later,” before he continued, talking about how Toby had represented Jim in his trial to the tribunal (and Marinette  _ really _ wanted to meet his friend Tobias; he sounded SO hilarious!) but ultimately he was found guilty and had to fight his greatest fear in The Deep? Whatever THAT was?? Only to come back and find out that Jim was being blamed for Vendel’s death and Usurna was taking over Trollmarket. 

“You know, Jim, we French have very effective ways for dealing with unjust monarchs…” which won another laugh! 

“I’ll keep the idea of a guillotine in mind...but we didn’t get much of a chance to face her,” and so the story continued, seeming to get more and more bleak. Gunmar being  _ invited _ into Trollmarket, their mad scramble to get all the trolls out with the gyre, until even that wasn’t an option. Marinette was surprised to have her opinion of Steve changed; he’d been such a Chloé in her mind, but apparently  _ some _ blondes can be redeemed. 

“And now I’m worried about Claire, because that was just...SO much magic.  _ Shadow _ magic, Blinky says. She’s got a cold and she says she’s fine but…”

“I bet she’s as bad as you, huh?” Marinette had to guess. When Jim’s only response was a bit of a sheepish smile, she had to shake her head and laugh a bit. “It’s like you’re made for each other!” He blushed and looked away before starting his story again, though a bit haltingly. Privately, Marinette called that another win. In the end, though, things weren’t looking great for her friend. She  _ ached _ to reach through the computer screen to give him a hug, to comfort, to be able to do ANYTHING to help. But if all she could do was listen… “So? How do you feel now?”

“I feel better,” Jim admitted. “It helps to talk it out, it really does! Sometimes, when I’m in the middle of everything, it all seems like too much and I can’t see the end, but when I break it down into pieces like this, it’s kind of easier to swallow.”

“So what happens now?” Marinette couldn't help but ask.

“Honestly? We’re really not sure. We’re kind of focusing on keeping the trolls fed and sheltered and out of the public eye. Aaarrrgghh’s gone to be a spy in Trollmarket to maybe find out what Gunmar’s next move is, but we haven’t heard back from him yet. And I  _ hate _ having to put him in that situation. Not just because we’ve already lost him once, and there’s no way we’ll be lucky enough to bring him back a second time, but to go back and even just  _ pretending _ to be under Gunmar again?”

“Wait, ‘again’?” Marinette had to clarify. A glance at Tikki showed her kwami giving a solemn nod.

“He used to be called Aarghaumont,” she whispered, even as Jim started to speak.

“Yeah, Aaarrrgghh used to be a Gumm-Gumm general. Gunmar stole him as a baby to...well, I’m pretty positive the word “raise” isn’t the word for what they did to him. But right before the battle of Killahead Bridge, he deserted Gunmar and fought against him. He’s been a pacifist by Blinky’s side ever since. Well, I mean, I guess until he smashed Bular to protect Toby. That was a thing.”

Marinette nodded. For all the wonderful things Jim had said about his kind and enormous friend, she had always gotten the impression that he’d been a simple individual. The truth of his background had definitely proved her wrong. “And now he’s having to act like a Gumm-Gumm again to get close to Gunmar? Won’t he be recognized? He was a general, right?”

Jim leaned his face into his hand and suddenly Marinette felt bad for suggesting it. “Maybe? I dunno. Aaarrrgghh is a Krubera and Queen Userna’s forces all look very similar, even without being transformed by the Decimaar Blade, so he’s probably blending in with them. Probably. I hope.”

“I’m sorry Jim,” she murmured, regretting to have cast doubt on him. “I’m sure Aaarrrgghh will be fine. He survived the first war just fine, and that’s when he was brand-new to being a good guy! I’m sure by now he’s got it all figured out!” Jim looked up at her with a weak smile that was more gratitude for her attempt at cheering him up than it actually  _ working. _ What’s more, he looked more exhausted than she’d seen him before, like every single crisis was trying to outdo itself on how much could be burdened on top of one 16-year-old before he couldn’t take anymore. “I want you to know, I’m sending all the good luck wishes I can possibly manage your way-”

“Me too!” Tikki chirped.

“-and Tikki, too!” She smiled, “If anyone can make a difference in your fortune, it ought to be us, right? And we’re on your side all the way!”

This time, Jim’s smile was true and heartfelt and...oh no, was he getting  _ tears _ in his eyes?! “Thank you, Marinette. And thank you, Tikki. That means...that means so much to me, it really does. I’ll even pass it on to Blinky and...well, I’ll let Blinky know. He’ll appreciate it, too, I’m sure.”

“Anything I can do to help. Really and truly, anything, Jim,” Marinette responded in kind with all the earnestness she could muster. “But for now, you REALLY need to go to bed. You look more tired than ever.”

That got another one of his increasingly frequent weak laughs. “I’m not even a little bit surprised it shows. ‘Late night study sessions’ is about the best we can come up with. Now if only my grades could reflect how much ‘hard work’ we’re putting into our schoolwork.”

“Hate to tell you, but that one IS a losing battle,” she had to quip a joke, anything to keep lightness wherever he could get it. 

It worked, and Jim did laugh, just a little. “Thanks,” the sarcasm was heavy. “That  _ really _ helps. Anyway, yeah, I’m gonna try and sleep for a bit before we have to head out again. Honestly? As a heads up, I’m probably not gonna be able to do these video chats, or even phone calls too much anymore. But texting is easy to do in between the crazy.”

“Whatever works for you,” she assured. “Just so long as you don’t DISAPPEAR on me again, I’ll be glad to hear from you.”

“You are never gonna let that go, are you?”

“Not a chance.  _ Bonne nuit _ , Jim. Stay safe!”

“ _ Bonne nuit, _ Marinette. Same to you!”

She couldn’t help the heavy sigh as she logged out of the video chat service. “You’re doing everything you can, Marinette,” Tikki assured her without even having to ask what was on her mind.

“But he’s going through so many terrible things!” she couldn’t help but burst out, throwing her hands in the air. “Papillon seems so...so... _ trivial _ in comparison!” she flopped backwards in her desk chair, head hanging upside-down.

“You know that’s not true,” Tikki said calmly. "Just because he's not trying to…” She paused for a moment as she considered the best phrase to use, “‘Make a goblet from your skull’, like Bular apparently threatened Jim with, it doesn't mean that his actions are any less real or dangerous to not only you, but innocent people here in Paris. The things that Papillon is able to do go deeper than just physical harm. He's preying on emotions, and in turn that makes people of this city more aware of their own feelings in good and bad ways. That can leave a lasting effect just as much as Gunmar’s violence on physical bodies can hurt someone.”

Marinette had lifted her head to listen closer. “And also, ever since you were able to share your secrets with each other, have you seen the way Jim looks when you tell him about akumas?” Marinette was paying attention to her kwami, but the confused look she gave made it evident that she wasn't sure what Tikki meant. So the tiny goddess continued, “He loves hearing your stories. He's never once been bored by it because there's no life and death involved. He's never once treated your situation as any less worthy than his own. Marinette, you are fighting your own battles and they have their own values. Please never underestimate that. And most especially, never underestimate the good you are able to do, even from 5630 miles away.” 

Marinette couldn't help but snort out a little laugh. “How do you just-did you just make that up? Did you just pick a random big number and MILES to sound impressive?” With an adorable little giggle, all Tikki told her was that she was free to look it up! With a challenging mock-glare, Marinette turned back to her computer to do just that, but stopped, hand hovering over her mouse. “He inspires me, you know?” she confessed quietly. “We both just started out as regular kids, then our worlds were changed. Seeing how strong he’s being, but also how kind he is? He’s so worried about his friends and family and town, and he SHOULD be, but you’re right. He’s always made time for listening to what’s going on with me, too. It makes me want to fight Papillon even harder!” she finished with a determined fist in the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something that OhShitMyShip drew attention to (and I’ve tried to keep doing!) is the extreme difference in lethality between the two shows. Bad as Hawkmoth is, he’s not trying to KILL anyone, plus Ladybug has the magic reset button after all is said and done. Marinette is used to being able to put things back when she’s done with a fight. Jim, on the other hand, has opponents who gleefully describe how they would like to turn him and his loved ones into a buffet. So it’s been a kind of balancing act, to keep their respect for each other equal, despite unequal circumstances.  
> I guess this is just the dance you have to do when playing with crossovers. Giving it a try myself has increased my respect GREATLY for the writers who do it all the time, most especially the ones that cross these kid-friendly shows with PG-13 movies (man, oh, man, I have read some GOOD Avengers crossovers, for BOTH of these shows!) and still make it work.  
> Oh! And before I forget. I DEEPLY apologize for any French errors I make. I do not speak the language and all I’ve got is Google Translate to work with. As such, I’m trying to keep it to a minimum so I make as few errors as possible. If I still fail at that, feel free to correct my usage!


	5. Guidance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What’s a teen to do when his weird, homicidal, almost-father-figure comes back? AGAIN?

Jim: strickler is back and i don’t know what to do!  
Jim: i mean...nomura is back, too, but she’s cool. she only ever tried to kill me.  
Jim: it’s not like she dated my mom or anything like that.

Marinette: So, just to be clear  
Marinette: Nomura has tried to kill you  
Marinette: But Strickler is worse because he dated your mom?

Jim: i mean...he’s tried to kill me too, to be fair  
Jim: it was the whole dating my mom thing AND siccing his assassin on me AND me not being able to punch his stupid big nose because that would also hurt my mom  
Jim: but yeah, he’s worse because he dated my mom  
Jim: it wasn’t personal for nomura

Marinette: Okay, just checking  
Marinette: I asked Alya what would be worse in that situation

Jim: what?!

Marinette: Just for pretend, of course  
Marinette: And she agrees with you.  
Marinette: Dating your mom is worse than trying to kill you.

Jim: haHA!

Marinette: Why are they back, anyway?

Jim: oh, um…  
Jim: they said they’re back to “offer me some guidance”. so i think train?  
Jim: to fight gunmar

Marinette: JIM! Why didn’t you SAY that?!  
Marinette: But you know, training accidents happen all the time.  
Marinette: Like broken noses…

Jim: see? this is why we’re friends  
Jim: tell alya she’s cool, too

Marinette: Yeah, she’s pretty cool.  
Marinette: You too!

Jim: hah, thanks!  
Jim: btw, did i ever tell you that draal and nomura used to date?

Marinette: Q U O I ? ! ? !

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was just...TOO much fun to write. Pure silly and I loved it.  
> Also, whoops! I got my timeline a little mixed-up when I was in the midst of my NaNoWriMo writing frenzy and forgot Strickler and Nomura showed up at the very end of Season 2. Please forgive the slightly out of order placement! I don't feel like messing with the chapter updates to make this one chapter 4.


	6. Artistic Expression

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette, as an artist, would DEFINITELY appreciate Barbara’s work. Too bad Jim is panicking too much himself.

Jim: okay you gotta see this  
Jim: _[picture message]  
_ Jim: my mom started painting again

Marinette: Your MOM painted that?!  
Marinette: Jim, that’s amazing!! Tell her she did a wonderful job!

Jim: no you dont understand!  
Jim: its BLINKY!!

Marinette: You’re right, I don’t understand  
Marinette: Is that a bad thing?   
Marinette: Also, does he really look like that?

Jim: what? no she did it kind of all abstract  
Jim: he does have that many eyes though

Marinette: WEIRD  
Marinette: Seriously, Jim, I need pictures of your troll friends.

Jim: ANYWAY! its bad because her memory is coming back!

Marinette: I’m kinda lost here. When did she lose her memory?  
Marinette: And when did she meet Blinky to have a memory of him to even COME back?

Jim: …  
Jim: oh crap that all happened kind of at once  
Jim: and right before the darklands

Marinette: >:(

Jim: i didnt realize i forgot to tell you that all happened right before angor rot attacked trollmarket

Marinette: ...this sounds like it needs to be a call  
Marinette: I think I know the beginning and ending, but the middle is crazy?

Jim: yeah thats fair  
Jim: ill let you know when im free

Marinette: Talk to you then!  
Marinette: Seriously, though, tell your mom she’s REALLY talented

Jim: :D Will do!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Confession time, I think that conversation may have been included in Super Pen Pals, but I thought it was funny anyway, so forgiveness for comedy…? Also, if anyone knows how to include a picture in the body of your fic, please let me know! I'm sure you gathered from context that it was a picture of Barbara's Blinky painting, but still...


	7. Arcadia’s Most Wanted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two heroes and their troubles with the boys in blue...

Jim: have you ever had to deal with an akuma making you think THEY were the ones causing things to happen but then it turned out to be actual petty criminals instead?  
Jim: and you end up getting accidentally tangled up with the police?

Marinette: Well, there WAS that one time when the police chief became akumatized himself?  
Marinette: He kind of took over the city and decided me and Chat weren’t needed anymore.  
Marinette: Tried to get us arrested

Jim: XD  
Jim: I’m guessing that didn’t go well for him?

Marinette: :3  
Marinette: Nope!

Jim: it was obvious he was akumatized right?

Marinette: Most akumas are REALLY obvious. Subtlety isn’t Papillon’s style.  
Marinette: He doesn’t have much style at all, really.  
Marinette: But yeah, RoboCop had a flying cop car and everything.

Jim: why did the police force do what he said then?  
Jim: being akumatized is very clearly ‘not of sound mind’ right?

Marinette: ……  
Marinette: I can’t tell you how very much I really wish I had an answer for that.  
Marinette: Because that kind of thing happens…  
Marinette: Kind of a LOT.

Jim: yikes

Marinette: Why were you asking about cops, anyway?  
Marinette: …  
Marinette: What did you DO?!

Jim: hey!  
Jim: you dont have to go and assume!  
Jim: rude

Marinette: You’re about to prove me right, aren’t you?  
Marinette: I remember The Chubby Tracker Incident

Jim: …  
Jim: it was toby actually

Marinette: haHA!  
Marinette: Oh wait, no, that’s bad. What happened?

Jim: combination of actual burglars committing thefts and trolls enjoying the taste of cat

Marinette: EW!!

Jim: we were running around trying to find this one troll named glug and get her to stop causing trouble  
Jim: which she actually wasnt except for the cats btw  
Jim: when toby gets caught looking suspicious because the cops were out looking to ‘crack down on crime’

Marinette: Oh no! What happened! Did he get arrested?

Jim: ...kinda?  
Jim: did i ever tell you that darci’s dad is a cop? a detective actually

Marinette: I don’t think you did?  
Marinette: Wait.  
Marinette: oh  
Marinette: NO!

Jim: yyyyyyyyyyyEP  
Jim: long story short  
Jim: there may have been a stolen cop car at some point

Marinette: You are terrible at this

Jim: then they caught the ACTUAL burglars  
Jim: hey shush  
Jim: because arrrgh scared the cheese out of them  
Jim: glug DIDNT get caught  
Jim: and toby got a medal for helping solve the investigation

Marinette: Hooray!  
Marinette: What about Darci? 

Jim: tobes officially has permission to date her now lol

Marinette: Yay happy ending!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what? Jim is (somehow?) better at telling stories when they’re not his. But it’s not by much.


	8. Bad Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette is Barbara’s biggest fan.

Maybe Marinette shouldn’t have agreed to the “mostly text conversations” thing with Jim. It seemed like he had taken it as license to be as ridiculously vague as possible, ascending his terrible storytelling skills to an entirely new level.

All of this leading to Marinette getting a text at 11pm saying: 

Jim: so...troll cocaine is a thing *shrug*

Marinette: …  
Marinette: You are the worst  
Marinette: EVER

***

Jim: so…  
Jim: _[picture message]  
_Jim: before you ask

Marinette: WHAT

Jim: YES  
Jim: that is actually what strickler looks like as a troll

Marinette: You are KIDDING me!

Jim: no seriously  
Jim: its actually a REALLY good likeness of him  
Jim: which is WILD when you consider mom only saw him like this ONCE and now shes remembering it through a fog of magical amnesia  
Jim: she calls the horns symbolic

Marinette: ...TEETH

Jim: you know the worst words he ever spoke to me?  
Jim: he transforms into THAT and goes  
Jim: “good look for picture day?”

Marinette: Oh mon DIEU! Are you kidding me?!

Jim: nope

Marinette: HAH!  
Marinette: But really, troll secret aside, your mom could make some serious money from these!  
Marinette: I want you to keep sending me pictures!  
Marinette: They look amazing!

Jim: lol good enough for the louvre?

Marinette: Don’t think I wouldn’t ask.  
Marinette: I visit kind of a lot.

Jim: no wait seriously dont actually tho

Marinette: ?

Jim: nomura told me once she used to be stationed in paris  
Jim: i dont want you to expose yourself to changelings by flashing a picture of the guy that used to be their head honcho  
Jim: might be a slim chance but it would be just MY luck and i dont think even tikki can overcome THAT  
Jim: could be awkward

Marinette: Oh yikes, yeah I can see that.  
Marinette: Drat, I was actually kind of excited by the idea.

Jim: lol ill tell mom anyway  
Jim: you just might be her biggest fan

Marinette: Not you?

Jim: ...the subject matter makes it a little hard to appreciate…

Marinette: XD  
Marinette: Oh no

Jim: what?!

Marinette: I just tried to imagine what would happen if Papillon turned a changeling into an akuma.

Jim: O_O  
Jim: ...i may or may not ask strickler and nomura about that…

Marinette: Oui s'il vous plaît!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Changelings in Paris? Becoming akumas? Pfft! Naaaaaaaaaaah!!  
> >_>  
> Also, I legitimately LOVE Barbara’s artwork and I need to see if there’s better pictures of each of them in an artbook or something. Especially Angor’s portrait. And Vendel!!  
> Again, if anyone knows how to include pictures in the text of a chapter, please let me know!


	9. So I'm Dating a Sorceress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are two sides to this whole “dating your battle partner” nonsense.

Jim: toby is accusing me that claire and i have never been on a date!  
Jim: its ridiculous! were together all the time! weve been on dates!

Marinette: Are they actual DATES?  
Marinette: Or are you just around each other when a crisis happens?

Jim: wait! no!  
Jim: NOT YOU TOO!!  
Jim: youre supposed to be on MY side!

Marinette: ?

Jim: thats exactly what toby was saying!  
Jim: that we havent been on dates, just trollhunting missions  
Jim: which, even if you don’t count those, we totally have  
Jim: had dates i mean

Marinette: You wanna know why I had to ask?  
Marinette: Because it’s personal.  
Marinette: I had to argue with Alya that Ladybug and Chat Noir saving the city together every third day doesn’t mean they’re dating

Jim: oh wait okay thats hilarious

Marinette: So NO!   
Marinette: Missions DO NOT count!  
Marinette: For the sake of my sanity, they do not count.

Jim: …  
Jim: merde

Marinette: *clutches pearls*  
Marinette: JAMES!  
Marinette: *faint*

Jim: oh shush  
Jim: youre the one who taught me that word  
Jim: in EXCHANGE for a trollish swear no less

Marinette: Don’t you spread lies like that!  
Marinette: You’ll get me in trouble!

Jim: THATS the part of this conversation you’re afraid will get leaked?!

Marinette: Priorities  
Marinette: I have a pristine good-girl image to maintain  
Marinette: In and out of spots

Jim: ok then ms good girl help me out  
Jim: i need dating advice that isnt toby kissing a basketball

Marinette: Hang on, let me call Alya…

Jim: what?! NO!

Marinette: Do you want me to ask Chat instead?

Jim: NEVERMIND I TAKE IT BACK

Marinette: Also, what was that about a basketball…?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pffft! As if they haven’t traded swear words. And she can’t even Google the trollish ones!


	10. The Exorcism of Claire Nunez

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug has been around since before the 12th century, right?

Jim: can i call you real quick  
Jim: cant talk long but it will be easier to ask over the phone instead of text

Marinette: I’m free, go for it!

Jim hit the button to call Marinette as he left Claire’s bedroom for Blinky and Toby to try and corral Morgana’s telekinetically destructive spree so he could speak in the hallway without the sorceress overhearing. Toby he was less worried about, but he would still honor his promise to secrecy. His friend didn’t take long to pick up.

 _“Bonjour_ Jim, what’s up? How did your date go?”

 _“Bonjour_ Marinette, ehhhhh...yeah, about the date...I’m sorry, I can’t talk long, but I needed to ask if you or Tikki knew anything about a sorceress named Morgan le Fay?”

“Um...the name is only _kind_ of familiar to me, but that’s just from the King Arthur story. Hang on…Also, what’s with your voice? Do we have a bad connection?” Jim could clearly hear the sound of street traffic in the background, cars and people alike. She must be out in public, so maybe she couldn’t ask Tikki right away? Or at all? 

“Uhhh...that’s part of the troll cocaine story, actually. Don’t do drugs, Marinette.” That seemed to get a breathless giggle out of her, sounding like she was moving quickly. Jim waited nervously, listening to the maniacal laughter coming out of Claire’s room, Toby’s terrified screaming, and a large portion of Blinky’s more frustrated vocabulary, both English and Trollish. As well as what sounded like some other languages. If he weren’t so worried about his girlfriend, he might try to eavesdrop some more to-

“Tikki says she doesn’t know a lot,” Marinette finally came back saying and Jim instantly refocused. “She goes by a lot of names, but was apparently sealed away…” she trailed off, her voice going slightly distant. She must be checking to make sure she had the facts right. “Sealed away about 900 years ago, around the same time Gunmar was, too. She doesn’t know anything exact, though, I’m sorry.”

Jim felt his shoulders slump, stifling a disappointed sigh that she might hear through the speaker. Instead, he answered, “It's okay, I was going to ask Strickler next, but I wanted to just check and see with you first.”

“What’s going on?” Marinette’s concern came through clear as a bell.

“It’s...it’s Claire. That cold she got after her huge portal meant something way worse. I can’t explain right now, though-” 

_CRASH!!_

“-I gotta call Strickler and see if he’s got something.”

“Best of luck!” she cheered on.

 _“Merci!”_ he rushed out before hanging up and dialing someone he was significantly less happy to ask for help, but he didn’t have much of a choice. He did hold Marinette’s wish of good luck close, though. It always seemed more significant, coming from Ladybug.

***

Jim: so...possession by a 12th century sorceress. no big deal  
Jim: she got better though :D

Marinette: What was that word you used?  
Marinette: *headdesk*  
Marinette: You’re doing this on PURPOSE now!

Jim: 😉

Marinette: Pest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jim, I just can’t with you.


	11. Parental Guidance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Preparing for Merlin’s tomb...

Jim: so first thing mom remembers everything now  
Jim: good news this means i dont have to lie to her anymore  
Jim: bad news she told tobys nana and claires parents  
Jim: good news we talked them around and theyre on board with supporting us  
Jim: instead of trying to ground us for eternity

Marinette: I’m kind of jealous, to be honest.

Jim: second thing kind of a lot has happened

Marinette: Oh boy…

Jim: but not quite as much as what usually happens when I say that  
Jim: so good news claire had a vision and bad news angor rot is apparently going to be resurrected by morgana

Marinette: Claire can have VISIONS?

Jim: apparently? i guess?

Marinette: And isn’t Angor Rot the one that ‘marked’ you and that’s how I figured out your secret?

Jim: YEP

Marinette: Magnifique…

Jim: good news we know what gunmars plan is now  
Jim: bad news we haven't seen arrrgh in days and we think he might be kidnapped by gunmar  
Jim: good news is that claire can use arrrgh as an emotional anchor to jump us right to where they are  
Jim: and ish news that i dont know how i feel about it is that were going to try and get merlins staff of avalon before gunmar so now were getting ready to go to merlins tomb

Marinette: Yeah, I don’t really know how to react to that, either.  
Marinette: Except GOOD LUCK!!

Jim: ill always take good luck from you lol!

Marinette: Wait.   
Marinette: Now that Claire’s parents know the truth  
Marinette: Does that mean you can tell them what REALLY happened when you threw that ‘rave’? 

Jim: OH MY GOD  
Jim: MAYBE THEY WONT HATE ME ANYMORE

Marinette: I wouldn’t go that far  
Marinette: You’re dating their daughter, isn’t it their job to hate you?

Jim: i kind of hate that youre probably right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha, I actually have a DIFFERENT fic in the works where Jim gleefully tells Claire’s parents how wrecking their house HASN’T been his fault!


	12. The Oath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (posting a smidgeon early because I didn't want to have to worry about forgetting to do so in the hubub that is Christmas Day)  
> Jim has to keep interested parties updated on his adventures. He’s pretty bad at it.

Jim: we're okay!   
Jim: on way to merlins tomb we'll let you know if we make it out alive 😉

Marinette: That was a joke, right?  
Marinette: Jim! RIGHT?!

Jim: we’re all okay

Marinette: Oh, good!

Jim: gunmar got the staff but we found merlin  
Jim: 😃👍

Marinette: Okay, staff bad. And Merlin? MERLIN? You mean THAT Merlin?  
Marinette: What do you mean you found him? Like his body?

Jim: i  
Jim: i think i need to call you later

Marinette: Oh  
Marinette: Okay!  
Marinete: *hugs*

Jim: merci

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, he was a little busy this time, all right? I’m sorry the last few chapters have been pretty slim pickings, but I swear, the closer we get to the Trollhunters finale, the meatier the chapters get. Soon it will be multiple chapters per episode! Next chapter lets Jim (and me, lol) air out a few grievances over what just happened in the crystal cavern.


	13. For the Glory of Merlin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot happened since Jim last really spoke to Marinette, and he could really use all the support he can get.

Jim: let me know when youre free to talk  
Jim: please

Marinette: Will do!

Jim: thx

Marinette: Sorry, akumas have the WORST timing.   
Marinette: Right after school? They couldn’t have their meltdown DURING school to get us out early?  
Marinette: Sorry, that’s mean. Anyway, you can call me whenever!

It took a while for her messages to even register as 'seen,' which made her stop and do the mental calculation of time zones, realizing just how late at night it was for him. Already into the a.m., actually. Because of this, she fully expected to not hear back from him in a while, maybe not even until the next day. As such, she made her way home to get homework done and in general take care of things that often get shoved aside by her superhero responsibilities. Which meant it came as a surprise when her phone began to ring and she saw Jim's contact. It was a video call, and she was safely in the privacy of her room, so there was no worry about taking it.

This time, when the video connected, her sharp eyes immediately caught the warning signs she had begun to learn when something had happened, something had gone wrong. She thought back on the message he had sent when requesting that they talk, it suddenly felt like there was a different context for the way he had phrased it. She didn't want to jump to conclusions, though, so she put on a bright smile and started easy.

"Hey Jim! I hope it's not too late for you!"

"Nah, I actually just finished talking to my mom. We are talking about...logistics." Marinette scrunched her face up at that. Logistics? If she was understanding the word correctly, which now she wasn't quite so sure about, she didn't understand how it had anything to do with anything.

"So, how did the adventure in Merlin's tomb go? What did you mean when you said you found him? Did you rescue Aaarrrgghh?"

Oh no.  _ That _ was definitely a cringe in his expression. She had touched on something and now she was scared.

"Aaarrrgghh, yes, but…" Sometimes she hated being right, especially when it was the pessimistic side of her.

"Oh no! Jim, what happened?"

So Jim began to tell her, being uncharacteristically careful and mindful of the details, instead of rabbiting off into the more exciting parts. It almost felt like he was dreading getting to a certain part. Something was different about the adventure he was talking about this time, and something in Marinette's heart was dreading the ending. Jim had come back safely, obviously, but she couldn't help but wonder about the rest of his companions.

Aaarrrgghh was found and rescued from a trap, so that was a relief. Hearing that Jim had to break his amulet in order to find a map to Merlin's tomb startled something in her. She didn't know why, but Marinette had always assumed that the Amulet was unbreakable, what with it being magic forged by Merlin and everything. She worried maybe that was the source of his melancholy, the dark cloud that was threatening despair over the conversation, but as he continued on, that didn't seem to be the case. Every time he would mention this or that plot twist, she was torn between dreading if this was the thing that laid him so low, and wanting to know the end before he got there because the tension was beginning to kill her.

Then…then they found Draal's mechanical arm, and that should have been good news, but the way Jim said it made the dread fully crystallize in her heart and Marinette knew what was causing Jim's sadness. She listened to him describe the run-in with Angor Rot and their escape from him into a gigantic maze-like crystal cavern.

Her heart lifted when he described finding his friend again, seeing Draal with his eyes clear and unpossessed of Gunmar's influence. They fought side by side, together fighting back against both Gunmar and Angor Rot, which was especially impressive considering Jim was doing so without his amulet. But that bright moment of camaraderie ended too soon. Gunmar got the Staff, and Angor...the assassin very nearly took Jim's life, would have turned him to stone with his poisoned blade, but Draal made the ultimate, most honorable sacrifice, and threw himself forward to be stabbed in Jim's place. 

"He...he tried to take Angor down with him," Jim said, his head in his hands. "Got him into a body lock to maybe hold him in place while he turned to stone, but Angor managed to get out of it. His last…" there was a huge sniff as Jim tried to stay composed, but still she could see the tears sliding down his face. "His last moments he crossed his arms over his chest. Did you know that's how his father died? Kanjigar died in that same pose, arms crossed over his chest, as a way to protect the amulet. Draal honored and respected his father so much, that was the last thing he did."

Marinette was nearly in tears herself, having heard about Jim's friends for so long, and most especially with the last serious conversation they'd had about Draal, she cared about them. Jim had been so torn apart at the prospect of fighting against his friend, only to now have him back for less than 10 minutes? It was too cruel.

“You know this is the second time I've seen Draal die?" Jim asked suddenly. Marinette jerked in surprise, not sure how to respond to that, because she for sure would have remembered if Jim had told her about such a traumatic experience. Then he went on, saying, "It was when I got arrested by the Tribunal, I was upset about how everything was going wrong and I was given…a vision, I guess? I'm still not positive if it was real or not, but anyway. It felt like I lived through how things might have been if I weren't the Trollhunter. Draal was made the Trollhunter instead, but things still went so badly wrong. Gunmar still got out, and when I went to try and stop it, there he was. Draal had been made Trollhunter, and he died for it. He died because I had made a stupid wish to not be the Trollhunter. And now this, he died because I broke the amulet, because I couldn't think of a better way to do what we needed to do. He protected me because I was defenseless. And still he called me his friend. Like I'm-"

"Stop right there!" Marinette interrupted him. Jim looked up and surprised, his eyes red and tear tracks stained on his cheeks. “I know what you're about to say," she continued, "and I'm not going to let you.” He seemed a little too stunned to contradict her, so she took a deep breath to let her thoughts settle into what she wanted to say before continuing. “Look...I know that it hurts. I really, really do. Chat likes to throw himself in harm's way  _ all the time _ because he thinks it’s HIS duty to protect me because I’m the only way to fix anything. Do you know how many times he’s actually been turned against me because of that? And how one time he almost vanished from existence entirely to protect me?” Jim was watching her in respectful silence, eyes still read but the tears scrubbed from his cheeks.

“So, yeah,” she continued, “seeing your friends take a hit for you sucks. _ But _ , and this has taken me a lot of time and conversations with Chat to really work out, when you have friends you want to protect and they have equal desire to protect you, and everybody is actually physically capable of doing so, you kind of don't have any room for trying to stop them. I mean, think of how it might have gone the other way. If either Draal had chosen not to protect you, or hadn't been able to get to you in time? Or even if the situation was reversed and Angor was attacking him and you got in the way. Any one of those scenarios where you stepped in and died in his place. You would have left your friends behind to mourn, and haven't you told me that Draal announced himself very specifically as your protector? Do you really think he would have been able to go forward with your death as his failure? He didn't die because you weren't good enough or anything like that. He died because you were facing  _ actual  _ deadly opponents. You did not kill him, Angor Rot did.” She leaned back and folded her arms angrily. “I think it's about time we blame the people who are hurting you and your friends instead of blaming yourself.

Jim nodded with an incredibly weak smile, then flopped his head down onto his folded arms, his voice muffled but still understandable, “It just hurts so bad, Mari. We were  _ so close! _ To getting the Staff, to having Draal back.” His head jerked up and turned to the side, like he’d heard something that didn’t get picked up by his microphone. Then he scowled, saying in a tone she wasn’t sure she was meant to hear, “Now all we have is a grumpy old wizard.”

This...wasn’t the time to address that, Marinette felt, so she didn’t ask. And...she didn’t really have anything else to share. It had come back around to that uncomfortable realization that Jim’s life is so much more dangerous than hers, that his enemies are so much more  _ cruel. _ What could she possibly say to lighten that burden? 

_ Light… _

“Jim?” she started, hesitantly. “I...don’t really know what is an appropriate memorial service for a...for a troll, but would it be alright with you if I did a candlelight vigil for him? For Draal?”

Jim’s head snapped around to look at her, eyes wide. “You want to...what?”

She smiled gently at him, explaining, “You’ve been telling me stories about your friends for a long time now, Jim. I wish I could meet them myself, because they’ve come to mean something to me, too. Not only because they keep you safe, but they’ve become important to me through your stories. And...I’d like to honor Draal somehow.” Silent tears began to slide down Jim’s face again, even as he was speechless. To be honest, Marinette’s tears weren’t far behind her friend’s. “I know trolls don’t do the whole sunlight thing, but Jim...you burn your brightest for them anyway. You, the Trollhunter, are like a beacon to them, even now, when it seems like things are approaching their darkest hour.”

Finally, Jim broke off from staring at her, scrubbing at his face with both hands, a bitter laugh escaping in bursts. “Marinette, you can’t just...you can’t just  _ say _ stuff like that!” he exclaimed weakly.

She let out her own watery laugh, retorting, “Come over here and stop me, then! Because it’s  _ true! _ And I’m not going to let my friend think any less of himself!”

Jim was silent for another moment before saying softly, “I think that would be really wonderful, if you wanted to do that. To remember Draal that way. I don’t really know what the troll equivalent would be either, actually, but…it means a lot.”

Marinette smiled gently. “I’ll send you pictures,” she promised. “And you can bet Ladybug will get some candles in the  _ highest _ places!” That got a weak laugh out of him, which she figured was about as good as it was going to get. Checking the time and doing the conversion, she got a little worried about how late it was for him. “Jim...are you going to be okay?”

He was quiet, still staring down at his desk, before finally looking up again, his expression becoming sharp with determination. “Yeah. I will. I’m not-” he sniffed loudly, scrubbing his face again. “I’m not gonna let what Draal did go to waste. I’ll make sure we win this thing, and I’ll beat Gunmar for him.”

Marinette could only watch with fond, proud eyes, smiling even wider. “See?” she said. “There you go. Burning brightest.”

Jim  _ definitely _ blushed at that, and then ruined the whole moment with a sudden jaw-cracking yawn, causing Marinette to laugh and bid her friend goodnight, insisting he get some sleep. Once they disconnected, though, she had work to do. Thinking over her options, Marinette worked up a plan, texted Alya, then started digging through her fabric stash for any blues that might work...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look. Draal got done dirty, okay? Yes, he started out as a dick (grief-stricken misplaced anger aside, he was a dick), but then he got his comeuppance and made his amends, turning himself into a better troll. Even paid his (twenty or so) pound(s) of flesh. Then to be made into Gunmar’s stooge and die when he finally has his freedom? It HURTS, y’all, and I have NEVER ONCE not cried at Draal’s death scene. So if you think you notice a trend in my Trollhunter fics focusing a little extra on Draal then you’re DAMN SKIPPY, I AM. It just kinda bothers me that there’s only, like, TWO references to Jim’s grief over Draal’s death (in the Killahead memory scene, and then Jim’s “For Draal” at the very end) so here I am doing what fanfic is made for, and fixing what I see as broken.  
> (in that vein, I am VORACIOUS for good-quality Draal fanfics and fanart, so send the recs my way, you beautiful people, you!)  
> Oh! Also! Almost forgot! You know that line Jim has, “In their darkest hour, I burn brightest,” that becomes SUPER meaningful at the end? It just...it kinda feels to me like there’s a deleted scene where either someone plants the phrase in his head, or he first comes up with it. Yeah, he says it twice, the first time right as he’s leaving his house at the beginning of the Eternal Night, but even then, saying it as he looks at his reflection in Daylight, it feels like he’s reciting a line, only we have NO IDEA where he got it from! Maybe it’s the way the VA said it? And I love the line! I really do! I just wish it was introduced more...organically, I guess? Whatever. Anyway, this was my attempt at having Marinette introduce the phrase to him, for it to come back later.


	14. In Good Hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are just too many secrets in the world, you know?

Jim: check out this list merlin gave us for things he needs for a spell  
Jim:  _ [picture message] _

Marinette: What? I mean, I don’t…  
Marinette: WHAT?

Jim: i know right?

Marinette: Are some of those supposed to be  
Marinette: Wait, what’s the word…  
Marinette: métaphorique?

Jim: metaphorical?

Marinette: I guess?   
Marinette: Like lightning in a bottle?

Jim: i really hope so  
Jim: if not, do you think we could get that one storm akuma to give us a hand?  
Jim: tobes says theres only a 2% chance of rain

Marinette: Stormy Weather?  
Marinette: I’m afraid our supervillain problem isn’t exactly an on-call service

Jim: heh  
Jim: worth a shot

Marinette: Also, I’ve been meaning to ask

Jim: yeah?

Marnette: You’ve mentioned Merlin a few times, but do you really mean…

Jim: super-famous wizard from the legend of camelot over 900 years old?  
Jim: yep. totally that merlin

Marinette: Um...WOW

Jim: eh  
Jim: dont let the fame fool you  
Jim: we are less than thrilled by the reality. especially blinky

Marinette: Well that’s no fun.

***

Jim: so...um…bad news  
Jim: i’m apparently flunking my grade?

Marinette: QUOI?!?!

Jim: looooooooots of missed days  
Jim: but good news!

Marinette: ???

Jim: theres a way out of it  
Jim: sort of?  
Jim: senor uhl told me to show some new kids around and he’ll “overlook” my absences?

Marinette: What about your Merlin shopping list?

Jim: we got one already but...  
Jim: yeeeeeaaaaaah…  
Jim: were about to get REAL creative with our bushigal…

Marinette: LOL!  
Marinette: Are they nice, at least?

Jim: ...yyyyyyes?  
Jim: sure

Marinette: What is THAT supposed to mean??

Jim: okay yes theyre nice  
Jim: just really kind of a lot weird

Marinette: …  
Marinette: JIM  
Marinette: From the outside perspective? YOU’RE weird. I’M weird.  
Marinette: It is not fair for EITHER of us to call someone else weird.

Jim: yeah but its not like they have a massive secret like us

Marinette: Again, we are both proof that you have no way of knowing that

Jim: okay, touche

Marinette: They could be aliens for all we know!

Jim: ...  
Jim: actually…  
Jim: you might be onto something…

Marinette: ?

Jim: their flavor of weird is kind of ET  
Jim: which is not a sentence i ever expected to type

***

Jim: YOU MIGHT BE ONTO SOMETHING

Marinette: ???

Jim: ok so theyre apparently SUPER smart and helped us get the lighting in a bottle!   
  
Marinette: For real?!

Jim: yeah!   
Jim: like krel built a super-capacitator from the microwave and aja HACKED the arcadia power grid to divert it to one spot  
Jim: then we just used my sword to channel the power into the jar and...it WORKED??

Marinette: That is so cool!!

Jim: we may or may not have caused a blackout

Marinette: 😮  
Marinette: How does that make them aliens, though?

Jim: exchange students from a country we’ve never heard of with super high tech and GET THIS  
Jim: claire was thanking them and called them “out of this world” and all krel said was “precisely”  
Jim: i know thats not hard evidence but COME ON

Marinette: ...maaaaaaaybe you focus on your Trollhunting and leave the aliens to Star Trek

Jim: yeah  
Jim: gotta see what merlin is gonna DO with this stuff…

Marinette: I’m actually REALLY curious, too

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...so the end of this episode doesn’t exactly put Jim in the mind to text his friend about the weirdo geniuses he met earlier that day, but I thought the idea was too cute, so forgive me for the timing? I fudge the timing in a few places in this fic, actually...  
> Also, I’m kinda salty with the 3Below version of this episode for a few different things. For starters, they erased my favorite tiny moments from the original showing of the episode. Krel’s kinda confused but sincere smile when Toby called them the best kind of weirdos (to me, that smile spoke VOLUMES about how much Krel appreciated someone valuing them for who they are, moreso than his “they think being weird is good.” For the 3B version, they could have done the smile again, maybe lingered on it a bit longer to show even more of his surprised realization without a need for words) and then Aja’s little point-and-wink when she says “teen center” are both miniscule and inconsequential, but I still love those cute moments of body language and expression. There were a few other unnecessary changes they made, like re-recording lines that didn’t change anything, that kinda bug me. Like, yes, I get that the first version was written/made before the whole 3B story was probably fleshed out, and I actually kinda like how they did it as almost “the first one was the Trollhunter’s perspective, but THIS one is the Akaridian perspective,” like the way Krel says “I am so bored” the two different ways shows how both sides were reading the situation differently, but then you have moments like “you’re wearing metal in a lightning storm” vs “you’re wearing metal and we’re capturing lightning” where recording the lines again didn’t change their meaning or intent? What was the point of re-recording those lines?  
> Also the way Aja and Krel kept “whispering” to each other while the other characters were standing RIGHT THERE. Like...my dudes, it was a neat idea to have the “getting Aja’s serrator back” sub-plot going on at the same time, I DID like that, but they were not being smooth about it at ALL. Give the Trollhunters (and the AUDIENCE) some credit for passive perception?  
> Sorry, rant over, haha! (I think there are more words in my author's note than there are in the actual chapter. Whoops!)


	15. A House Divided

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim has a decision to make, and no one who can make it for him.  
> CW: mention of suicide

Maybe it was futile. Or selfish. Or even just foolish. Jim knew he couldn’t ask any of his friends what they thought. 

_“Asking mummy for permission?”_ Merlin’s mocking words came back to him.

But he wasn’t trying to ask for permission. Not really. He just wanted to confirm...he _thought_ he knew what the right answer was. He just…

Marinette... _Ladybug_ knew what it was like to sacrifice so much for the calling to protect. He trusted her insight, and even though she’d faced less deadly opponents, she had also proven her wisdom. So it wouldn’t be foolish to see what she would do, right?

Almost without him realizing he had done anything, Jim could hear the tinny ringback tone from his phone, Marinette’s cheerful peace-sign picture smiling at him. Hesitantly, he began to raise the phone to his ear, but even before the ringtone finished, it was cut off by his friend's voice. Jim very nearly dropped the phone in surprise and alarm, not quite having the words to explain ready, but then he realized it was her voicemail. It had gone straight to voicemail, so maybe her phone was off? Wait, what time was it? Was she sleeping? His brain was too muddy to make the timezone calculation…

_Beeeeep!_

The end of the answering machine message jolted Jim to lift his phone to his ear, the chaotic thoughts pinballing around in his mind trying to line up at his mouth.

“H-hey, Mari. Guess I caught you at a bad time. No big deal. I guess I kinda just wanted to hear your opinion about something. It’s...I wanted to ask what you would do if...if that thing you’re responsible for-”

God forbid someone else ends up listening to her voicemail, Jim wouldn’t be able to stand it if he were the one to out her from being so _careless_.

“-if it ever asked, like, a LOT from you. I mean, I know it asks a lot, I get that, but what if...what if it asked for everything? If you were asked to leave it all behind? It’s just...I dunno, it’s just so hard. It’s a hard choice, but I don’t see how I can NOT do it. I-I shouldn’t be asking you this, I’m sorry.” Jim is silent for a moment, coming to a realization.

“It’s my choice...it’s my choice…”

And there it is. 

“I’m sorry to bother you. Hope you’re having a good day. _Au revoir,_ Marinette.”

And he hung up, setting his phone on the lip of the sink, now staring at the Amulet of Daylight in his hands.

He had a choice to make.

***

“Girl, you have got to be the most forgetful person I know!” Alya laughed as she patted Marinette’s shoulder. “How can you forget to charge your phone?! No wonder you’re always late to school if that’s your alarm!”

“I knoooooow,” Marinete wailed. She lifted her phone to glare at the black screen grumpily. Alya, bless her, had done homework in the library (free to listen to music and chat with passing friends and even work on her Ladyblog) while Marinette served her detention for being late (sans music and friends), so they were only now arriving at Marinette’s door in the late afternoon. “Thanks for sticking around, Alya. You’re the best.”

“You know it! But, uh…” she peered around her best friends figure into the bakery to see the way Marinette’s father was sending an uncharacteristically stern look out toward his daughter. “Yeah, I don’t think I need to be here for this.”

Marinette jerked her head up in surprise, first to look at Alya, then around to see what she’d been looking at. Seeing her papa, she cringed away and tried to spin and grab the arm of her fleeing friend. “No wait, you can’t go!”

“See ya! I love ya! Good luck and don’t dieeeee!”

Aaaaaand she was gone.

“...traitor...:” Marinette mumbled under her breath before squaring her shoulders to march into the bakery to face her doom. Or...her grounding. Whichever came first.

***

It was a while before Marinette was free to go up to her room. First there was the helping of closing the bakery, the air made heavy by the expectation of things to be said, then the march upstairs, THEN the chewing-out she had been expecting for all her tardiness and absences, then they got to enjoy a tremendously awkward dinner together, before she was _finally_ dismissed to go upstairs with strict orders to do her homework.

Unfortunately, she was going to be late for patrol with Chat Noir. Hastily, Marinette arranged her room to look like she’d been doing homework diligently before going up to her roof for a break of fresh air. In her scramble, she remembered to plug her phone into the charger. Right as she was about to transform, she heard it give a series of beeps. Checking notifications, she saw plenty of texts from Alya, mostly in the same vein of “Where are you? You’re late” but she also saw a missed call from Jim and a new voicemail. 

“Oh no, Tikki! I should call him back, but I’m late already!” Marinette hopped back and forth from foot to foot with her indecision. 

“It’s okay, Marinette!” Tikki chirped. The little kwami zoomed forward and placed her paw on the phone, closing her eyes tightly for a moment before they popped open again. “Now your messages will be on your yo-yo! Maybe you can listen to it on your way to meeting Chat Noir?”

Marinette gasped, “You can _do_ that? Tikki, you’re the best! _Transformez-moi!”_

Turns out, though, Ladybug couldn’t sacrifice using her yo-yo to check her messages until she was nearly at the building where she was meant to meet Chat Noir. The first thing she did was try to call Jim back, but the phone rang out without being picked up. She hung up when it went to voicemail, instead opting to listen to the message that had been left before. 

She didn’t even hear Chat Noir’s landing on the roof a few meters away from her as her blood ran _cold._

“Good evening, my- my Lady? My Lady, what’s wrong?” 

She didn’t answer as she fumbled at the touchscreen, calling Jim’s number back. Distantly, she felt his hands settle on her shoulders, and thought he might be trying to look her in the eye, but all she could do was stare forward, unfocused, disbelieving, as the call rang out to voicemail again. Was that what she thought it was?

“Ladybug, please, talk to me, what’s wrong? What happened??”

And now she was worrying Chat…

“I-I...I think I just got...Chat, I’m not sure, but I think...I think I got a suicide note? Or, message? Suicide message?”

 _“What?_ Ladybug, from who? Who do you mean? What’s going on?” His brilliant green eyes darted down to the yo-yo in her hand. “Wait…” She hadn’t hung up after being told to leave a message. Gently, he touched the button to hang up, privately fretting over how much may have been recorded. Both of their names had been said, and the name on the contact just said “Jim.” But she’d talked before about a friend in trouble, hadn’t she? Was that his name? She’d confessed how worried she’d been about him. Is that who this was? Gathering her hands between his, he squeezed them softly, trying to catch her eyes again. “My Lady? Please talk to me. Who is it? Your friend from overseas? The one you said has a dangerous secret like us?”

Finally, she looked up to meet his eyes, still seeming to be in a bit of a daze. It worried him. “You remembered?”

He attempted a reassuring smile, though it may have come out a little more supermodel than sincere than he would have wanted. The worry pushed him back onto ingrained habits. “Of course I remember, Ladybug. You’ve told me about him a few times before, about how scared you get for him. Last time you just hadn’t heard anything at all. What makes you think this time...I mean...what did the message say, exactly?”

She looked down at where her yo-yo was still cradled in their hands, the screen still showing Jim’s contact information. She almost went to just play the message for Chat to hear, but a jolt stopped her just in time; Jim had used her name, Marinette, hadn’t he? Chat can’t hear that. So she took a deep breath and tried to remember what he’d said, exactly.

“He said...he’d called to ask my opinion. If my responsibility, if being Ladybug, ever asked me to give up everything, would I do it? But then he said he shouldn’t be asking me, because he said it’s his choice. And then...then he just said goodbye! He wanted me to have a _nice day_ and said goodbye and hung up!” She looked back up at Chat, blue eyes desperately looking for reassurance. “What does that mean, asking if he should give everything up?!”

Even if he didn’t say it out loud, Chat did agree that it sounded...pretty bad. “Maybe try calling him again? Or, is there anyone else you can call?”

Ladybug shook her head, even as she called Jim’s number again. “No one else. I never got his friends’ contact information…” She held the yo-yo up to her ear as they both went quiet, listening intently to the ringing on the other side. 

It went to voicemail again. Ladybug inhaled, like she was preparing to leave a message, then snatched the yo-yo away to hang up and redial once more.

Voicemail again. And again.

The fourth time she heard her friend’s blase’ instructions to leave a message, Ladybug had silent tears slipping over her mask. Chat hesitantly, carefully, reached up to wipe them away, earning the tiniest of smiles and the way she leaned her head into his hand, just a little bit. For the final time, she did leave a message and Chat followed the English just fine.

“Jim, you are calling me back. You are calling me back RIGHT AWAY. I can’t believe you would just DO that to me and now I can’t call you?! How _dare_ you keep scaring me like this!! Just...JIM!! YOU WILL CALL ME!” Finished, she yanked the yo-yo away from her ear and stabbed the button to hang up. It was as though she’d only had that brief burst of energy, though, and her shoulders slumped, her hands dropping to her sides. 

“My Lady? Would you like a hug?” Chat offered quietly. In response, Ladybug just leaned forward until her forehead bumped into her partner’s shoulder, letting his arms wind around her shoulders to hold her and just BE there for her.

Bless Chat Noir for being the sweetest, most understanding partner.

“Chat,” she mumbled into his suit. “I don’t know what to do.”

“I’m sorry, Ladybug,” and he really, truly sounded it. “I don’t either. All I can think of is to wait and see if you get a response.”

Miserably, all she could do was nod in agreement. “It sucks,” she declared. “I don’t know if it’ll be better if I try to distract myself, though.”

“How about this?” Chat suggested, keeping his arms around her until she finally made a move to back away. “Let’s run patrol together tonight, instead of separate. And if we go now, I’ll get you some ice cream while we can find a shop still open. I know it won’t fix anything, and I’m not trying to say that it will, but I think it’s best if we stick together. Unless you want to go home and I can patrol myself?”

There was silence for a moment as she really considered it, until she finally shook her head. “I don’t think I want to be alone right now. I’ll just keep thinking and stressing about it, checking my phone in case I get a call...nothing useful will happen that way. At least if I patrol with you, maybe we can save someone else…”

Chat very gently bumped his knuckles into her chin with an encouraging smile, “And there she is, the hero always looking to help someone. Paris is lucky to have you, my Lady, and so is Jim. I hope he knows that.”

“He’d better,” Ladybug grumbled.

Chat was right, though, running patrol together and getting ice cream didn’t fix, well, _anything_ , really, but it helped to know she wasn’t alone. It just upset her that she’d thought Jim HAD known that…

_Please, call me back. Please, please, please…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it. This scene right here is the number one reason I wanted to write any of this. Just...the vision of a distressed Jim calling Marinette for some weight-of-the-world solidarity and then _mangling_ what he was trying to say, so much that he ends up making her think the _absolute worst._  
>  It's kind of fitting, actually. Yeah, this is Chapter 15, but it was the beginning of this weird spin-off fic of mine, and I'm posting it at the beginning of the New Year.  
> So! *clap* Happy New Year! Enjoy that for the weekend! Next chapter posts on Monday! *flee*


	16. Jimhunters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe stop scaring your loved ones to death, Jim? That way they don’t have to take drastic measures.  
> CW: mention of suicide

Marinette was glad for the exhaustion a good patrol run would give her, simply because it made for a deep night’s sleep. It didn’t help her homework situation, though. Between not enough sleep, and her anxiety over WHAT is going on with Jim-

_ Please, call me. Please let that not mean what I think it means… _

-she was frazzled in class and it took a herculean effort to browbeat her attention into some kind of focus. Even so, Chloé snapping at her for the anxious foot-tapping and pen-clicking came very close to shredding her very last nerve. 

“Orange is not the new black, Marinette,” Alya whispered to her. “There’s no fashion in prison.” After a beat, she also added, “And Hawkmoth is usually even WORSE.”

_ There’s no Miraculous in prison, _ Marinette also reminded herself, glancing down at her bag to see Tikki peeking out worriedly.  _ There’s no getting a phone call from a LIVE Trollhunter, either. _

So it took a deep breath (or ten) but Marinette tuned out her bully and tried to focus on class.

Emphasis on  _ tried. _ But somehow, she made it through.

She bid Alya goodbye at school, confessing that in addition to being grounded, she wasn’t feeling much up to hanging out, instead deciding to go home and try to get some homework done. She managed with mixed success, helped along by Tikki as her personal cheerleader until it was time for dinner. Her parents could clearly read her odd mood, with its mix of fretful energy and something disconsolate. Privately, they assumed it was her grounding punishment, and she didn’t say anything to tell them otherwise. 

Going back up to her bedroom after yet another awkward dinner made her realize it’d been just about 24 hours since she’d seen Jim’s last message. It was Chat’s turn to patrol alone, so she was on her own for the evening. An  _ awful _ idea slipped into her mind to check the internet for Arcadia local news to see if there was any kind of tragedy…

She shook her head furiously, slapping her hands to her cheeks. “Stop it, Marinette! You have to trust-”

_ “Marinette!” _ Tikki suddenly squealed, causing the girl to spin around to see her kwami staring intently at the phone on her desk. “Jim texted you!”

The lunge she made for the phone would have made Adrien impressed with her fencing skills, but that was a distant thought in her mind as she mistyped her passcode twice (almost LOCKING the phone) before she was able to open the messenger app.

Jim: yourr really mad ag me arent yoi  
Jim: imn so sorry  
Jim: is now s goof tim to call

Marinette didn’t even bother responding to his texts before initiating the call herself, bouncing up and down on her toes as it rang, and rang, and-

“Hey, Marinette…” His voice was sheepish, but it was undoubtedly JIM!

“Jim!! I can’t believe you-! You-!  _ Secousse!  _ You’re alive and  _ mon Dieu, _ you’re right, I’m so MAD at you!”

“I’m sorry, you’re right I…I heard the first message you left, I don’t think you even meant it to be a voicemail. You were telling Chat Noir that you thought I...you thought I was going to…”

“What was I SUPPOSED to think?! You left me that message and I thought you were saying goodbye! For GOOD! Talking about sacrifice and leaving everything  _ behind? _ And then you just wished me a good day and  _ au revoir! _ ” Marinette was trembling head to toe with a flood of emotions she didn’t know what to do with, though her tear ducts were starting to make up their minds about it. Tikki flew up with a tissue, her huge blue eyes compassionate. Finally, she blurted,  _ “Jim! _ I thought you were planning to KILL yourself!”

“Tell him I was worried, too!” the kwami chirped.

“Oh! And! AND! You made Tikki worry, too! She’s basically an immortal  _ goddess _ and you made her worry!”

“Oh man...I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I didn’t mean...oh my god, it all came out wrong, didn’t it? Like I was going to...no, no, no! That’s not- that isn’t what I meant at all, I’m so sorry, please believe me, Marinette, I never meant to scare you like that!" Much as she tried, she couldn't hold in the sniffle as she clutched to keep her composure and stay angry instead of becoming a weepy mess. Funnily, enough, though, that seemed to cow the Trollhunter more than her anger. "Oh no! Oh no! Don't cry! I'm so sorry, really I am! Ah, shit, it's just, man, things are so crazy right now and it's such a mess and Merlin said I had to make a  _ choice _ and yeah, I had to make it for myself, but I also wanted to get your opinion, because I know that you know what I'm going through, with the responsibility and all. I love my friends, I really do! But I knew if I asked them, they would tell me not to do it. Because they don't have the same responsibility! But I guess, I thought...I called you because I thought it would help, and then I had to leave a message and I was just so confused, it all came out wrong…"

Marinette sniffed again, only partially mollified. "I'll say! I don’t want any more excuses, though. What I WANT...”

She paused for dramatic effect, until Jim muttered a timid little, “Yeah?”

Marinette smiled. “What I  _ want _ is your  _ maman’s  _ contact information.”

“Wait, what?”

_ “Oui! _ Your mother’s, your friends’,  _ mon Dieu _ , Jim, I don’t care if it’s a TROLL! You will  _ not _ do this to me  _ again! _ I will not stand for it! If I have to pay some shady private investigator to track you down, don’t think I won’t!”

That got a laugh out of him, though it sounded like he had moved the phone away from his mouth at the same time, his voice going a little distant. “Alright, alright, hang on, let me…” he was silent for a moment and Marinette could hear sharp tapping from the touchscreen. “Um...actually, do you think you could write them down? I was gonna text them, but I’m having trouble with my phone. Fat fingers, ya know?”

Marinette hummed agreement as she sat at her desk and grabbed pen and paper. “Go ahead?”

“Okay, Mom’s first off, is…”

The distraction of the simple task helped get her emotions under control, even muting her phone briefly to blow her nose without being rude about it. Now, maybe, she won’t be cut off if an emergency happens. Again. And it actually gave her a fairly significant feeling of reassurance as she wrote down the contacts for Barbara, Claire, Tobias, and even Blinky. “Blinky has a phone? I was kind of joking about the troll part. Can troll hands even use the touchscreen?”

“Apparently…” The laugh she got sounded weirdly strained, but still Jim continued, “I told you about the time Blinky got turned into a human, right? We got him a phone when that happened and he just kind of...kept it. The signal down in Trollmarket isn’t actually that bad.” Marinette had to laugh at the mental image of a big stone troll (she couldn’t help but allow her imagination conjured up something like a cross between Barbara’s Picasso-style painting of Blinky, Ivan’s akumatized form, Stoneheart, and the pictures that had been in Master Fu’s abbreviated copy of the Book of Ga-Huel) gingerly holding a smartphone.

(Unbeknownst to her, she wasn’t far off.)

“So,” she said, crossing her arms on her desk. “Are you going to tell me what that  _ choice _ was all about? Because I’m not totally sure I understood everything you said. Why don’t we switch over to video?”

There was a long moment of silence that had Marinette checking the call connection before she heard his voice again, “Uhhh, sorry, I can’t do video right now. My...service isn’t great.” He sounded weirdly cagey by that, but Marinette shrugged; it happened.

When he didn’t say anything else, though, she prompted, “Soooo…?  _ Dîtes-moi. _ Tell me. Oh wait!” she looked to her kwami, who was at present munching contentedly on a macaron, “Tikki? I’d like to send Chat Noir a message just very quickly. I want to tell him that Jim is okay.”

“Wait, he knows, too?” Jim asked, confused and a little concerned.

“Not about trolls, no,” she corrected, “but that you are my friend with a powerful secret like ours. Oh, and also, you’re the one who keeps getting into danger and making me  _ freak out and worry to death. _ And Chat is a good friend who worries about ME, so yes, he knows about you and would like to know you’re alright. I ended up listening to that  _ message _ right when we met up for patrol.”

“Oh, um...right,” now Jim sounded chagrined more than anything and Marinette couldn’t help the smug little smirk at that. Good. Maybe if he knows that more people care than he realizes, he won’t be quite so quick to do such harebrained things. Like running off to troll hell without a word.

_ “Un instant s'il vous plaît,” _ she set her phone on speaker and placed it down on the desk. “Tikki,  _ Transformez-moi!” _ It was going to be a short stint in the spandex, as all she really needed to do was send Chat Noir a quick message to let him know that Jim was alright. Even so, she sat back down at her desk, tapping on her yo-yo while also speaking to her phone. “Alright, how do you say? Pour? No, spill!”

Jim snorted a laugh at that. “It was something Merlin gave me to do.”

“To do with those ingredients you got him?”

“Actually, yeah.”

“What’s he like, by the way?”

“Honestly? He’s kind of a jackass. But you can’t argue that he’s old and powerful. Or,  _ was _ powerful at least. Anyway.” There was a great gust of breath into the speaker of the phone; Marinette guessed Jim had just sighed expansively. “Things...are about to go down, basically. With Gunmar and Morgana and Angor Rot and...it’s gonna be bad. Blinky thought that Merlin was coming up with a spell to finish Gunmar before war broke out, but that wasn’t Merlin’s plan at all. He told me I had a choice, but it’s not a choice  _ whether _ to fight, but  _ how. _ He made this...magic potion. Elixir? Anyway. He gave it to me so I could fight...better. Stronger and faster and all that. But magic like that comes at a price, you know? That’s what my call to you was about.”

Marinette was quiet and solemn for a moment, letting it all sink in. A magical  _ war _ was about to happen. And her friend was smack in the middle of it. And there wasn’t anything she could do to help. Or, rather, when he had reached out for it, her phone’s  _ battery _ had died.

“What was the price, Jim? What was your choice?” she whispered.

“I should have known that I wouldn’t be able to live a normal life,” Jim admitted with a broken, half-hearted chuckle. “This just kind of formalized it. That whole, ‘leaving it all behind’ stuff. I  _ really am _ sorry that I made you think I meant...anything else,” he reiterated, “But now my life will be all about being the Trollhunter.”

“Weren’t you still keeping up with school and everything?” Marinette asked, though something in the tone of his voice told her she was grasping at straws. “You showed those new kids around to save your grade and everything!”

“Not anymore…” the murmur was so soft and melancholy that she almost didn’t hear it.

“Jim?” she hedged. “Are you-”

“It worked, though!” he suddenly burst out, voice full of enthusiasm. It brought a timid smile to her face, but she could tell he was dodging. Something told her it was important to let him do it, though. She didn’t want to push too hard and cause him to become MORE distressed, or even shut her out again. “We tested it! Aaarrrgghh, like, smacked me through a fence and I didn’t feel a thing! Then me and Claire were basically playing Shadow Portal Tag, but she couldn’t get a hit on me! I feel strong and nimble, my reflexes are like CRAZY! Tobes says it’s like I levelled up!”

Marinette decided this was safe ground to be on for now. “I dunno, I bet I could give you a run for your money. Maybe when this is all over, you can come to Paris and we can make a contest of it!”

“You know, I’ve seen some of the moves you use on TV, and I think I could take you. Claire is pretty quick with her Shadow Staff, you know?”

The conversation may or may not have devolved into friendly bickering from there, each trying to one-up the other in experience (which is actually not an unusual topic for their conversations) while also tip-toeing around the earlier tension. It would come back occasionally, usually when Marinette said something she thought wouldn’t be a big deal, like asking Jim why he wasn’t in school upon realizing what time it ought to be in California. He’d hesitate before declaring how lucky he was that he didn't have to worry about school anymore without saying exactly  _ why. _ Just part of that “price,” Marinette assumed, without knowing what it had been, precisely. 

They chatted for maybe another hour, Marinette transcribing her friend’s numbers into her phone in the meantime, before saying their goodbyes. It had felt like they were back to their old conversations again, swapping stories and jokes, ribbing each other good-naturedly. Marinette was glad that Jim was sounding a lot better by the end. He’d definitely dodged a few questions and observations, but had become more relaxed.

Jim's parting words to her were innocent enough, but they definitely went into Marinette's mental column of Things That Made Her Concerned for her friend. "I'm glad I was able to talk to you. Sorry again about the scare, but it was good to talk to somebody like everything was normal again."

"Pfft! As if either of us are normal, Jim Lake! But  _ oui, _ I'm glad to talk to you too. To be honest, I probably won't be able to stop worrying until this whole war with Gunmar is over and taken care of. I keep wishing more and more that I could leave Paris, if only for a few hours to help you out."

"You and me both! You know how cool it would be to have a superhero on our side?!"

Marinette couldn't help but laugh at that. "You figure out a way to get me over there for a little bit and I'll come with bells on! The only problem is Chat Noir and I can't leave Paris to the clutches of Papillon for very long at all."

"Man…" Jim muttered. "If only we could get through to use the gyre station…"

“The what now?”

“A gyre is the troll transportation that we used to go to Argentina to talk to that giant mountain troll I told you about, Gatto. It’s CRAZY fast, but also really awful to ride in. Blinky is...actually pretty terrifying in a gyre. Aaarrrgghh hates them a lot,” he laughed at that. “Anyway, I’ll let you go. It must be getting pretty late.”

Startled, Marinette looked at the time stamp on her phone and he was right. “Oh,  _ merde! _ Homework!” she yelped. “I’m glad you're okay, Jim! Stay safe, and  _ seriously _ , let me know if I need to catch a...a gyre, or whatever, if I can come and keep you from doing something stupidly heroic.”

“Like YOU’RE one to talk!” Jim laughed. “I really would love the extra power, but yeah, the gyre’s under Gumm-Gumm control, so that’s not gonna happen. Thanks for the offer, though, Mari, I really do appreciate it. Hopefully I’ll be able to tell you how everything goes down once it’s all over.”

“You’d better! But take care, Jim. Be safe. Good luck.” Silently, she poured every ounce of her claim to the title of Lady Luck into those two words. She’d never meant them more.

“Same to you, Marinette. Thanks again. I feel...I feel a lot better, now. You’re a great friend. Take care.”

It was getting treacherously close to becoming a “no, you hang up first” situation, so Marinette breathed one last,  _ “Au revoir,” _ before cutting the call. The swell of feelings that she’d been able to push down and pretend weren’t there during the casual parts of their conversation seemed to rise up like a tide in her chest, squeezing her heart, filling her lungs, crawling up her throat until she clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle the sudden sob that burst out. All that seemed to do was invite another, and another, until she had to slap her phone down on the desk to cover her mouth with both hands to try and keep from dissolving into hysterics. 

They’d been talking about a  _ war. _ Jim was only SIXTEEN, and he was gearing up to go to war, along with his other  _ sixteen-year-old _ friends, along with stone creatures who were who-knows-how-old. Marinette had offered her help without hesitation, and nothing would keep her from  _ meaning _ that offer, if only so her vivid imagination wouldn’t be able to conjure up the worst possible scenarios in place of seeing the real deal. It was just…

She took some deep, shuddering breaths, grabbing a tissue to scrub at her face and calm down. Her outburst had been something of a catharsis, being able to let out her fears for Jim’s possible future, but also the relief at hearing from him again after fearing the worst. The little chirp of notification from her phone finally pulled her enough out of her funk to check the message. Only, there was no new message on her phone. Then what…?

The chirp sounded out again and Marinette realized with a start that she was still in her Ladybug costume and the notification had come from her yo-yo! She’d forgotten to transform back in the midst of her talking to Jim. Taking it from her waist and flipping it open, she saw two new messages from Chat Noir, following the ones she’d sent him earlier.

Ladybug: Great news! Jim is okay!  
Ladybug: Even better news, I’m chewing him out right now and made him give me his mom’s phone number. 😈

Chat Noir: I’m really glad to hear your friend’s okay, my Lady!  
Chat Noir: (Sorry it took me so long to respond; ended up helping the police with a car chase and only just now finished up. Whew!)

She smiled down at the messages before coming to a decision.

Ladybug: Do you mind if I join you for patrol? Where are you? I’d like to talk for a bit.

Chat Noir: Nothing would give me more pleasure than to spend time in your purrrrfect company this evening! 😺  
Chat Noir: Meet me at the Louvre?

Intentional or not, Chat’s signature flirtation caused a welcome burst of laughter.

Ladybug: Be there in a bit!

She took a moment to arrange her room to look like she’d gone to bed (including plugging her phone in to charge) before taking off into the warm air of the early summer night to meet up with her partner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case there’s any confusion, this takes place during that day when Jim’s friends are searching for him after he disappeared on Claire. I figure he had that moment with the river trolls at sunrise, found someplace to hole up from the daylight, then had to recenter himself somehow to be all bright and chipper to make dinner for his mom that evening. For my purposes, that means calling his peeved-off good friend to let her know he’s NOT dead and also get a taste of someone not treating him like he’s just transformed into a 7-foot horned blue troll. I hope that all came across. Also, his issues using his phone with a “meatier” hand, lol.


	17. Jim Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy gives friend his mother’s phone number. Keep reading to see what happens next!

Okay, so  _ maaaaaaaybe _ she’d stayed out patrolling with Chat Noir for later than she’d meant to. It had started as a way to talk and get some (Jim related) things off her chest (including how much she wanted to HELP but had no way of  _ getting _ there to do so), but then she may have stuck around to let Chat brighten her mood by just being  _ himself, _ and then there had been a call to action and then...she was getting home at 4:30 am.

Marinette was pretty sure her bones had turned to jelly as she slipped through the skylight and onto her bed, transformation dismissing as she flopped in a boneless, half-asleep heap onto her covers. Tikki may have expressed concern over her state of...everything, but the poor girl was out like a light before she could hear anything. Instead, the kwami managed to pull a blanket over her Miraculous wielder before slipping down to the desk where her stash of cookies was stored. Refuel on cookies, THEN it was time to sleep. It’s not like she couldn’t nap in Marinette’s purse during school.

Just as Tikki was cuddling down to sleep herself, and Marinette was breathing in soft snores, her phone rang with an incoming video call. Tikki was  _ very nearly _ tempted to silence it because who called this late at night?? Or, early in the morning. Whatever! But looking at the caller ID told her Marinette wouldn’t be happy to miss this one. Even so, just as Tikki was beginning to try and shake Marinette awake, the call rang out and disconnected. The kwami paused, waiting to see if he would try agai-

Yup! It was ringing again.

“Marinette!” Tikki started prodding at her wielder’s soft cheek. “Marinette, wake up, Jim’s calling!”

“Mmmnnjiiiimmmm?” she mumbled, almost incoherently. “Ssssstupid Jiiiimm?”

“Yes! That Jim! He’s calling right now! You need to answer your phone!”

Clumsily, Marinette started patting her hand in the direction of her ringing phone. Without even opening her eyes, she tried to accept the call, but kept missing. Tikki helpfully tapped the button before it could ring out again, then jerked away from the video with a sudden gasp, her paws covering her mouth as her eyes went wide. She quickly glanced at Marinette, but her eyes were still closed, not seeing the image on her phone.

“Marinette?” 

_ Wait, that IS Jim’s voice, but what…? Is this what he’d meant?! This is what Merlin had done? _

_ “Bonjour, _ Jim,” Marinette slurred, still with her eyes closed.  _ “Quoi de neuf?” _ If she didn’t remember to start speaking English soon, she might start to stress the limits of the French Jim remembered, which he’d been admittedly a bit too busy to work on as much lately. She dragged the phone to her ear, not realizing it was video.

“Marinette? Are you even awake? I’m sorry, I know it’s late but…” he made a frustrated sound that came out a  _ lot _ like a growl, which caused her to actually blink her eyes open for a second. “I don’t know what I’m doing! I can’t...I shouldn’t  _ be _ here, I shouldn’t even be  _ talking _ to you!”

THAT finally seemed to do the trick to wake Marinette up, hearing the distress in his voice. She shifted in bed, rolling to the side so she could lean on one elbow, holding the phone to her ear with the other hand. “Wait, what are you talking about?  _ Je suis désolé _ , I didn’t mean to make you think I didn’t want to talk, I want you to know you can always call me!"

"That's not- I mean, yeah, I'm sorry for calling so late, but that's not what- I mean, it is, but...just  _ look at me!" _ His last words came out not only as a growl, but with an echoing roar of challenge. The noise in itself caused Marinette to jerk the phone away from her ear and when she finally laid eyes on her screen, she saw an unfamiliar face with her friend’s voice, causing her to sit bolt upright in alarm. “You see? I’m-”

_ “Jim!! _ Have you been akumatized?!” Marinette shrilled, her eyes raking over what she could see from his video.  _ Blue skin _ , his eyes the same color they’d been before, his hair fluffier, his nose looking wider and flatter,  _ tusks _ protruding from his lower jaw, his ears seemed longer (and pointed?), and she couldn’t be sure, but when Jim shifted his phone just so, it showed the top of his head more and she thought she could see horns. All in all, kind of middling on the list of weirdest-looking akumas. His armor was even still apparent around his neck and shoulders, gleaming dark bluish-black with glowing red highlights. She watched carefully for the tell-tale sign of Papillon’s neon pink butterfly mask to appear before his eyes;  _ that _ magic, at least, showed up on camera, even if kwamis themselves didn’t. “No, Jim, this shouldn’t be possible! You’re so far away, Papillon shouldn’t be able to reach you, much less FIND you, how could this-?”

“What? No, Marinette, I haven’t been akumatized, this is  _ me!” _ he insisted.

That gave her pause, even if she didn’t quite entirely buy it. “What do you mean, that’s ‘you’? What happened? What’s going on?”

He heaved a huge gust of a sigh, scrubbing one hand over his face-

_ He only has four fingers? _

-before scraping his nails through his hair to grip at a-

_ Yep, those are horns. _

-backward-pointed horn in frustration.

“I  _ mean, _ this was my choice. The one Merlin gave me.”

“Your choice…?”

_...not a choice whether to fight, but how…. _

_...so I could fight better. Stronger and faster… _

_...I wouldn’t be able to live a normal life. This just kind of formalized it… _

_...Not anymore… _

Her sleep muddled-brain was trying to sort through the conversation they’d had earlier in the day, like a TV remote flipping through channels. “Jim, how does this make you...able to fight better? What is this?”

“I’m half troll, now,” he confessed, turning his face away so he wouldn’t have to look at her. “I’m hideous…”

Marinette couldn’t help but snort. “You’re really not.” When Jim looked back at her sharply, she went on to say, “You’re not even in the top ten weirdest or worst-looking akumas I’ve ever seen. Seriously, Papillon has a  _ terrible _ sense of design.” She got a very slight, barely-there smile out of that. “What does it mean for you, though, to be half troll? I don’t really know anything about FULL trolls, so…”

"Well, I'm way taller now!" He moved the camera back to demonstrate and as he did so, Marinette was surprised to realize he seemed to be standing in a...classroom? Even though it was clearly night through the wide bank of windows. He stood himself next to a doorway and held his arm out to show that yes, the horns on his head did come awfully close to the top of the frame. His posture made it look like he was boasting a bit, proud of his magical growth spurt, but then that all drained away, his shoulders slumping forward and the camera feed drifting to an odd angle as he wasn't paying attention to how his phone was being held. “But also...I can’t go outside, apparently.”

“What’s wrong with going outside?” 

“Well, I mean in the daylight. It turns trolls into statues, and apparently that means me, now, too.” Marinette grimaced at that news, but didn’t say anything; she hardly wanted to rub in how bad that sounded.

“But once the war is over, you’ll go back to being human, right? Merlin can turn you back?”

She took a moment to glance at Tikki and was taken aback by her kwami’s sorrowful gaze. Just looking at her, Marinette came to the realization just as Jim was answering, “No. This is permanent.” And  _ oh, _ there was such a heavy weight in his voice as he declared it so. 

“And you knew that going in, didn’t you?” she realized. There was a grunt of affirmation, though Jim’s face couldn’t be seen from the current angle. In the silence, Marinette considered what she might have done in his place. Solemnly, she declared, “You’re amazing, Master Jim, Trollhunter and Bular Slayer.” There was a blur of dark colors and then the camera was centered on Jim’s face again, his familiar blue eyes wide even as his tusk-laden jaw fell a little slack. “You made an incredibly hard decision, one that put everyone you love, two  _ worlds _ of people, above yourself, and that’s so amazing.” Now she could see the way his jaw clenched, but continued, “If it had been me? If I had to choose if I was going to turn into some kind of...I don’t know, giant ladybug-creature? I’m not sure if I could have. I don’t know the whole situation, and I don’t know if Merlin was right to make you choose this, but I’m proud of you. You’re an amazing hero.”

“You don’t…” Jim was definitely struggling to accept her words. “You can’t  _ know _ that! I’m not even-” he suddenly cut himself off and Marinette had a sudden sinking feeling as she watched his expression just...close off. She couldn’t read him as well as she would have his human face, but there was something that told her he was done listening to her encouragement. 

“Wait, Jim…”

“I’m sorry for bothering you, Mari.”

“Jim, don’t you-”

“Have a good night.”

_ “Jim _ , don’t you DARE-” The video call ended.  _ “-hang up on me!” _ she finished with a hiss. It was only with an enormous amount of self-control that kept her from shrieking her fury into the dead of night. At least until she had a pillow to scream into. Sitting up again from that, she furiously tapped away at her phone, dialing up a brand-new contact.

_ Hang up on ME, why don’t you? _

“Hello? This is Dr. Barbara Lake,” the woman on the other end of the call answered, sounding just the slightest bit frantic.

“Jim is fine, but you can find him at the school,” Marinette declared without fanfare or other explanation.

“What? Who is-” but she hung up, before dialing the next number. If what Jim was doing WASN’T trying to hide from his loved ones in his distress, she would ask Chat Noir out on a date.

Claire next. The call picked up apparently mid-conversation, “-is she saying?” Then, “Hello?” Marinette repeated the same message she’d given to Barbara, which got a gasp from Claire. “Toby! He’s at the-”

Distantly, Marinette heard a boy’s voice say, “The school, yeah! Let’s go!”

“Wait, who is-” Whoops! Time to hang up! She only needed to make one more call, since apparently Tobias had gotten the message already. The phone was ringing again before being picked up, a smooth, rich baritone voice answering, “Yes, hello?” 

Marinette actually startled and double-checked the contact on her phone, but it seemed to be right. “Is...is this Blinky?”

“Speaking! May I ask who’s calling, please?” The first time she ever spoke with a real-life troll (Jim didn’t count) and the polite, lightly-accented voice was  _ not at all _ what she had been expecting. In fact, her surprise got the better of her and derailed her script, making her answer almost without thinking. 

“This is- um...this is Ladybug, Jim’s friend. He’s-” she was cut off by a startled exclamation from the troll.

“By Deya’s grace, what a  _ privilege _ it is to be speaking with you!” Okay, but seriously, this is NOT what she expected her first conversation with a troll to be like. “I’m so terribly sorry, but I’m afraid I haven’t the time right now for pleasantries. You see, Master Jim-”

_ “Je sais!” _ She felt bad for cutting him off, but suddenly a lot of Jim’s stories about his mentor were making MUCH more sense. Especially the ones where he tended to be a bit...verbose. “I know! I’m calling about Jim! I wanted to let you know he’s at the school.”

“Is he really?” His voice went slightly more distant. “Aaarrrgghh! We must make haste to the school!” There was a rumbling, growling sound, rhythmic thudding, and then Blinky’s breath seemed to be coming quicker as he returned to the call. “A great many thanks,  _ Mademoiselle  _ Ladybug. We’ve been quite concerned for him all day.”

“You and me both,” she emphatically agreed. “And actually, you tell him that, for me! You tell Jim that he is NOT going to get away with that again!”

Blinky chuckled at that, “I will most certainly pass on your message.  _ Au revoir, _ dear Ladybug, I certainly hope to speak with you again!”

She couldn’t help but laugh in bemusement at the strangely pleasant, if short, conversation. “Same to you,  _ Monsieur _ Blinky! Stay safe!” After hanging up, she looked at Tikki and asked, “Have you ever actually met a troll before?”

The kwami shook her head, “The Ladybug Miraculous has never gone to a troll, so I’ve never had the chance to meet one of their kind. Blinky seemed nice, though!”

That got a laugh out of Marinette, “He really did! Not at all what I was-” she was suddenly interrupted by an enormous yawn. “-expecting!” 

Tikki gave her a gentle smile. “We should go back to sleep. Jim’s friends can take care of him, now. You did well, Marinette.”

Marinette nodded, yawning again, setting her phone aside and this time having the sense to actually get  _ under _ her covers. “I just...can’t even imagine what that would have been like…” she murmured as she drifted off. “He’s still my friend, though…”

Tikki curled up on the pillow beside her wielder with a smile, going to sleep almost as quickly.

***

_ Later, in Arcadia _

“Ah, Master Jim, a word, if you don’t mind.” At Blinky’s behest, Jim stepped away from the others, though there were only so steps away to be taken in a house bursting with three humans, three changelings, two trolls, a wizard, and a half-troll. The scholar looked over Jim’s shoulder, assessing the lack of privacy and decided he simply needed to choose his words discreetly. “It was, shall we say, rather  _ miraculous  _ that Aaarrrgghh and I knew where to find you. I believe a bespeckled friend of yours would like to have some words with you about your behavior. More specifically, ensuring that you  _ do not do it again.” _

Jim’s brow furrowed in confusion for all of three seconds before shooting up in realization, eyes wide. “Wait, you spoke to her?”

“Indeed. That is how we knew where to find you at the school.”

The Trollhunter thought over the rest of what Blinky said and could really only come to one conclusion. 

“... _ merde. _ She’s gonna kill me. _ ” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy gives friend his mother’s phone number. It immediately backfires on him. XD I had so much fun writing that conversation with Blinky, haha!  
> In seriousness, though, do you ever just...want to justify the pain you feel about being “other’d” by trying to convince the people you love that you’re right about that view of yourself? Like, you’re having a bad day, you snapped at one person, and now you want everyone to agree that you’re just mean and the worst?  
> Anyway, that’s...kind of what I was going for with this chapter. Jim had his moment of feeling normal on the phone with Mari, then lost that feeling when trying to have dinner with his mom. He retreated to the place where he thought he could feel human again and when that didn’t work, he decided to drag the last person out of the loop into thinking he’s a monster WITH him. Aaaaaaand stopped listening when she wouldn’t oblige, haha!  
> Look, grief is weird and I am NO expert, but I can definitely relate to Jim’s mood swings in this episode, even the ones I’m manufacturing for this fic. When I have a bad day, I am an EXPERT at refuting anyone’s claims to me having value. Days like that and it’s the only thing I’ll admit I’m good at.


	18. That IS a Shortcut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Trollhunters are gathering their forces and laying their plans. They’re going to need all the help they can get.

Jim could hear Blinky downstairs setting up his battle map of Arcadia on the dining room table, in order to present his plan to everyone else. There was, predictably, cantankerous grumblings coming from Merlin about pretty much everything. He ignored it for now, because he had a call to make. He’d already sent a text, making sure now was a good time and that she was available, because after getting his head screwed on straight (and an actual decent night’s sleep) he’d finally had an idea to solve a problem that hadn’t seemed like it had a solution.

Calling a familiar contact, Jim waited for Marinette to pick up.

“ _Bonsoir,_ Jim! Are you having another personal crisis?”

THAT caused a burst of laughter before he shook his head, “Hello to you, too! And unless you count the impending crisis that is a Gumm-Gumm invasion, that may or may not be personal. I do have a beef or two with Gunmar to take care of today. And Angor Rot.”

“Is that happening today?” her voice was suddenly timid and concerned.

“We’re pretty sure-” Blinky shouted something downstairs about the museum and Philistines. “...yeah. Not long now, probably. Maybe an hour?”

“Jim...can you promise me that SOMEone will call me when this is all over? I can’t...I can’t deal with the radio silence of not knowing again.”

“How about I do you one better?” he asked with a grin, pushing past the uncertainty in her last statement. “How long do you think you can be away from Paris?”

“A few hours, maybe? Why? I thought there wasn’t any way…!”

“I may have thought up a shortcut. If you want to come and help, that is…”

“Of _course_ I want to come and help!” she practically shrilled in his ear. “After all of the heartache and worry you’ve put me through, and feeling helpless? And if Lucky Charm can do anything to help, all the better! Tikki WILL demand cookies, though.”

Jim laughs and agrees easily, “Cookies it is! I’ll even throw some Nougat Nummies into the deal. And heck!” He let his sudden optimism carry him forward to his next suggestion. “Maybe you can invite Chat Noir along!” He didn’t expect the silence on her side of the call, though. Another tremor shaking the house and causing shouts of alarm from downstairs gave him a reminder of the stakes at hand. “Marinette?”

“Do you mean it? I can tell Chat about this?” Jim had to stop and think a moment, really considering what had initially been a flippant response. “Because he’s become pretty invested in this, you know, even without knowing the details. He knows you’re deep into something dangerous, and he knows how much I hate the feeling of helplessness. I mean, who do you think I’ve been TALKING to when you leave me a worried mess with your ghosting and your _ominous voicemails?!_ I know you’ve never talked to him, but I trust him. And he would be a great help.”

“Sure,” Jim quickly replied, jumping in while she took a breath. It was kind of sweet, actually, hearing how much she trusted her partner, identities notwithstanding. “I get the feeling trolls aren’t going to be that big of a secret for much longer, and you two clearly know how to keep your mouth shut. And besides! We need all the help we can get, and two superheroes will be twice as awesome!”

“Jim!! _Fantastique!_ How will we get there? And get back? And when?”

“I think I know a shortcut…” Downstairs, it seemed like things were getting heated between Merlin and...well, everyone else. He probably ought to intervene soon. “I’ll need to check to make sure this will work, but I’ll call you back as soon as I can. See if you can get ahold of Chat Noir in the meantime, fill him in on what’s going on, and be prepared to kick a lot of stone butt. And I think...I’ll let you know, but I think if you guys wait at the...let’s say the top of the Eiffel Tower, that ought to be good.”

“...top of the Eiffel Tower...okay then.”

“Talk to you later, I gotta go!” Hanging up, Jim squared his shoulders and headed downstairs. He was tired of hearing Merlin make decisions on who he, the Trollhunter, will be facing. 

***

_Meanwhile, in Paris_

It was Ladybug’s turn for patrol that night, so after scrabbling for last-minute items to stuff into her purse, she shouted for Tikki’s attention to suit up and leap out of her room. It wasn’t uncommon for the super duo to meet up for a little bit before parting ways, as she had done previously. She could only hope that Chat had decided to suit up already when she called him from her yo-yo, having to take the path to the Eiffel Tower in sprints and leaps off of rooftops without her yo-yo to propel the way.

It seemed luck was on her side because her video call was answered almost immediately.

 _“Bonsoir,_ My Lady! I was just on my way to say hello!”

“Meet me at the Eiffel Tower! It’s urgent!” The surprise was evident in his face, but the passing of scenery behind him indicated he was on the move. “Also, Chat, how good is your English?”

“I’m actually fluent,” he answered in English, with just a trace of French accent before switching back to their native tongue. “What’s this about, Ladybug?”

Deciding to cut to the chase, she said, “My friend Jim needs help in a big way and he thinks he can get us to California for a few hours, if we want to help.”

“With what?”

“Honestly? Trolls.”

“...I’m not sure what I was expecting you to say, but that wasn’t it. Because something tells me you’re not talking about jerks on the internet.”

That gave her a laugh. “Nope! Think fairy tales about monsters living under bridges who turn to stone in the sunlight.” She was approaching Trocadero Gardens, with no more rooftops to run across. “I’m nearly to the Tower, I’ll explain everything then. Race you to the top!” With a wink, she flipped her yo-yo closed, not even waiting for a response and instead flinging it as hard as she could to loop it around a midpoint on the Tower, zipping herself across the distance. It took just a couple of more flings of her yo-yo and a neat little flip around the bulge of the tourist observation deck to get above the view of visitors, only to spot a dark shape at the very top of the Tower’s antenna. “That cat…” she muttered, nevermind that she had been the one to issue a challenge without knowing how close he’d already been.

Seeing her approach, Chat gave her a decidedly jaunty two-finger salute before scooting to one side to make room for her. “So...trolls in California? And you want to help with what, exactly?”

Ladybug took a deep breath (to prepare herself to tell the story, not because she was winded from the run. What do you take her for?) and launched into what she knew about the brewing war between good trolls and the Gumm-Gumms, led by Gunmar the Black, with Jim between them as the Trollhunter. That war was going to happen soon and Jim had asked for her help, saying he may have a way to transport them. 

“I know that I’m dropping this on you all at once, and you don’t have to come if you don’t want to, and I totally understand if you don’t, especially since that won’t mean we’ve BOTH left Paris, but I’m just sick and tired of being a world away and unable to help!”

“My Lady, it’s okay!” Chat reached forward to lay his hands on her shoulders, ducking his head down a bit to catch her eyes. “It would be my honor to go and fight.”

Ladybug gasped, “Really?!”

He couldn’t help but smile at her. “But of course! I may not have known the details about _trolls_ , but you’ve been telling me about your friend Jim for a while, about how dangerous things are for him. I may not know him personally, but I can’t help but be concerned all the same. And now he’s facing down a _war?_ Yeah, that’s awful to hear about and not be able to do anything. If you say there’s a way for us to help out, even for just a little while, then I’m all for it!”

Ladybug’s smile was wide and she will forever deny getting even a little misty-eyed, “You don’t know how much this means to me, Chat. You’re the best!” Leaning forward, she threw her arms around his shoulders for a brief hug. Brief, because her yo-yo began to chime with an incoming call that she scrambled to answer. Flipping it open, she saw Jim’s blue face on the other end. Before he even said anything, she blurted out, “Jim! We’re in!” she swung her arm around a bit for the camera to catch Chat Noir behind her, throwing up a peace sign. “Both of us.”

***

_Back in Arcadia_

There was a short discussion of logistics, who would be fighting where. With their forces spread thin, Jim was glad to be able to add in, “I think I may be able to get a couple more fighters to help with the action.”

“A most worthy idea, Master Jim, but with a battle of this scale, I’m not sure only a “couple” will be sufficient-” Blinky suddenly cut himself off with a gasp of realization, all six eyes staring at Jim. “Wait, you don’t mean…!”

“It may only be one or two heroes, but we’ll be lucky to have them,” he said, smiling just a little at his own private joke. “I’m not totally sure if this will work, though, because it depends on Claire,” he addressed that last part as he turned to his girlfriend, causing her to blink in surprise.

“Me?” At his solemn nod, she straightened up. “What do you need?”

“What’s the farthest portal you’ve ever made?”

“Uh…” her eyes darted side to side as she tried to think. “I’m not really sure. Wherever the bridge got dumped in the ocean? Wherever Aaarrrgghh had been left as bait by Gunmar? Or however far away Merlin's tomb was? I don’t even know where any of those places ARE, but I don’t think distance is so much of a problem, as long as I have something to focus on, especially an emotional anchor.”

“What about a landmark?” Jim pressed. He was _really_ hoping this would work. “Would you be able to connect to, say, the Eiffel Tower?”

“Okay, well that’s weirdly specific,” Toby observed. Meanwhile, Blinky almost seemed to be holding his breath as he observed the conversation unfolding, his upper pair of hands clasping together while his lower pair clenched and unclenched fists. He wasn’t being terribly subtle about his excitement, but Strickler was the first to call him out on it.

“What has you standing there with bated breath, Blinkous?” he asked suspiciously, but all Blinky did was flap one hand at him impatiently to silence the query. 

“Why are you wanting a portal to _Paris_ , Jim? What, or who, I guess I should ask, would be…” she went quiet as she had a sudden realization. “Wait. Is that who called me last night?” Jim cocked his head at her, confused, so Claire had to elaborate. “Last night, when we were still looking for you, I got a call from a girl with a French accent, telling me that you were at the school.”

“Oh!” Barbara gasped, everyone turning to her. “Me too! I mean, I found Jim’s yearbook and had a guess, but then I got that call and it kind of confirmed it. I didn’t know who it was, though.”

“I got just such a call, as well, though she did identify herself to me,” Blinky added in.

“Who was it?” Toby demanded, sensing a mystery. “And how did she get their numbers?”

“A powerful friend,” Jim answered, before Blinky could spill the beans. If Claire couldn’t make the portal, it would be best if Ladybug remained anonymous. “And I gave her your numbers because she kind of...got really pissed at me for going off the radar a few too many times without any way of finding out what happened. She didn’t want that to happen again, especially with what’s about to go down…”

“And you really think she can help?” Claire confirmed. When Jim nodded, so did she, firming up her resolve. “Then I’ll give it a try. The Eiffel Tower, you said?”

“Try the very, very top of it,” he suggested.

“Wait, here!” Toby exclaimed, scooting around with his phone in hand, having searched for an image of said tower, and then zooming in to the top of it. “Maybe this will help?”

“Thanks, Tobes,” Claire smiled.

“Fair Claire,” Blinky also spoke up. “Might I also suggest, when you got that phone call last night, though it was anonymous, did you feel gratitude for the news?” When she hummed agreement, he continued, “Then perhaps you can use that tether of emotion, small though it may be, to create a stronger connection.”

“Good idea,” she agreed, then looked at Jim. “Am I doing this right now?” But he shook his head.

“I need to make sure she’s there. I told her I’d give her a call, so gimme a minute…” Taking out his phone, all Jim had to do was redial the last number he’d called, where it connected almost immediately.

“Jim! _Étaient en! Nous deux.”_ He could see Chat Noir behind her, who she didn’t seem to realize was giving her bunny ears. Jim couldn’t help but snort a little.

“I’m sorry, can you give that to me again in English? I’m kinda rusty,” he replied sheepishly. Blinky, though, obliged with a translation before Ladybug got a chance. 

“They can both come to assist!” he blurted with a shout.

In the video feed, Ladybug was scratching the back of her head, laughing. “Sorry about that,” she replied in English. “Got a little ahead of myself. How are we doing this?”

“Claire is gonna make a portal for you to jump through to get here. It’ll look like a black and purple swirl.”

“Jim?” He looked over at Claire. She was already holding the Shadow Staff fully extended. “Can I talk to her? It’ll help with the connection.”

Jim nodded, looking back at his phone, “Claire wants to talk for a second,” before handing it to his girlfriend.

Taking it, she had a greeting on her lips that died when she saw the VERY distinctive faces of the two bona fide superheroes. Her jaw dropped and she could only stare as THE Ladybug waved at her with a smile and THE Chat Noir gave her a wink. “You have _got_ to be kidding me,” she declared, looking up to stare at her boyfriend. All Jim could offer was a shrug and a suspiciously self-satisfied smirk. “So, um…”

“You’re Claire, _oui?”_ Ladybug asked. “Jim has told me all about you!”

“Um... _si._ And you’re…”

“A friend who’s really glad to finally be able to help.”

Claire was finally snapped out of her shock when Toby bumped her elbow, trying to see who it was that had stunned her so much; his curiosity was killing him, but Claire’s big-sister reflex had her just lifting the phone higher and trying to shoo him off, something she’d had to do with NotEnrique too many times already. Turning back to the call, she composed herself, “Um, actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. You really have already helped. I wanted to thank you for calling me last night.”

“You were able to find him and knock some sense into him, I hope?”

Claire mock-glared at Jim while answering, “Not nearly enough,” which got her a laugh from pretty much everyone _except_ for Jim, who just looked disgruntled. And Merlin, but he didn’t really laugh at anything. Getting to business, she said, “I’m going to try and make a portal right near where you are. You’re at the top of the Eiffel Tower, right?”

“The VERY top!” Chat Noir confirmed.

Claire nodded, “So, knowing where you are, and now knowing WHO you are, it should help me be pretty accurate. So hang on, and once you see a portal, go ahead and come through. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to hold it open.” She offered the phone back to Jim, who took it and directed her to open the portal just in front of the kitchen door, so they had a bit of a runway down the hall.

It took Claire some moments of concentration but once the swirl of black and purple manifested on their end, Jim asked, “Okay, do you see it? You should be good to come through.” But there was no answer. He looked down at the screen and saw that the call had disconnected. Alarmed, he watched the portal intently, even taking a half step forward as if to check and see where the other side let out. Even as he did so, he had to jerk back when a scarlet blur came leaping through, followed by a figure all in black. It was good they had the length of the hallway to skid to a stop, nimble though they were. Relieved, Claire let the portal close.

There were a series of gasps of recognition around the room while the pair oriented themselves, Blinky giving an indistinct noise of delight, before finally Toby couldn’t handle it anymore and shouted, “Your _friends_ are the FRENCH SUPERHEROES?!”

Chat Noir offered a cheery little wave, his brilliant green eyes darting over the assembled humans and trolls and in-betweens with more and more awe, but Ladybug’s eyes were sweeping with a purpose, finally zeroing in on Jim’s form, standing just in front of Aaarrrgghh. With no warning whatsoever, she stalked up to the Trollhunter, hauled back her tiny fist and _decked him_ across the jaw, sending him flying backward and into the giant green Krubera, who even had to take a step or two back to steady his catch.

“My Lady!” Chat lunged forward to place a hand on her shoulder while everyone else bristled in shock.

Ladybug ignored all that, though, just pointing a furious finger at Jim, who was currently blinking rapidly and shaking his head from the blow while Aaarrrgghh leaned him back upright. “You deserved that, James Lake, Jr.!” she shouted. “For all of the STRESS and WORRY and _VOICEMAILS_ and **_HANGING UP ON ME!_ ** I’m just glad your stupid stone skin meant I didn’t have to hold back as much!”

“That was her holding back?” Nomura murmured to Strickler, sounding impressed. 

“Stress and worry? She really MUST be your friend!” NotEnrique cackled. Looking for the source of the voice, Chat Noir’s tail actually stood straight on end in surprise at the sight of the little diapered changeling, who merely chuckled evilly at the attention.

While the rest of the Trollhunters had become much more agitated by Ladybug’s attack (Tobias stood in front of his best friend with the hilt of his warhammer ready, though not extended. He was still suffering under a tremendous case of starstruck) she took a moment more to glare at Jim, as if to reinforce her ire, then closed her eyes to take a deep breath, and opened them again with a smile. “Jim said something about needing a miracle? Or at least a lucky break?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The _fuuuuun_ has ARRIIIIIIIIVED!! 😄 Okay, but seriously, FINALLY being able to mash the characters together, to bring Ladybug and Chat into Arcadia for the nonsense that’s about to happen, this was all just SO much fun to envision.   
> Btw, I’ve been delighted by the love of this story so far and get more giddy every time I see the hit count tick higher, but… comments feed my soul. So if you’ve got a moment to jot a word or two about the chapter, it means so much to me!


	19. Twilight Before the Night Eternal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introductions, explanations, and preparations

Ladybug stood with her hands on her hips and a grin on her masked face. “Jim said something about needing a miracle? Or at least a lucky break?”

Strickler raised an incredulous eyebrow at what _seemed_ to be a terrible pun, murmuring to Nomura, “Did she just…?” 

Whereas Chat Noir could only laugh, “Good one, my Lady!”

Finally, it seemed as though Blinky couldn’t hold himself back anymore and bustled his way forward to the heroes. “Greetings and salutations, noble heroes!” This evoked a snort from Merlin that everyone ignored, but Ladybug gasped like she had a realization. 

“Wait, _you’re_ Blinky?” She couldn’t help but look him over again, once more trying to process “troll” and “eloquent” together, even with the evidence before her.

He seemed delighted to be recognized. “Indeed! Be assured I did pass on your message to Master Jim last night, though your demonstration just now probably had a more lasting...shall we say, _impact_.” He chuckled at his own joke. “It is most fortuitous to have modern-day Miraculous wielders assisting us in these dark times.”

There were a few repeats of the word “Miraculous” around the room, some confused, like from Claire and Barbara, and others shocked, like Strickler, Nomura, and especially Merlin.

“Miraculous wielders?” he demanded, suddenly interested and approaching the superheroes to inspect them more closely. “Are you _really?_ ” He was rubbing at his beard as he leaned MUCH too far into Ladybug’s personal space to peer at her earrings, even as she leaned away nervously. Chat Noir frowned, standing ready at her side to get the creepy old man to back off. Thankfully, though, Jim had the sense to step in.

“Yeah, and they’ve actually been having trouble lately-,” he placed his left hand on Merlin’s shoulder (Ladybug was startled to notice it had five fingers, when she had been so _sure_ she’d only seen four in their call earlier _…_ ) to pull him back, “-with someone trying to steal them, so how about a little personal space for the people doing me a _major_ personal favor?”

Merlin harrumphed, but allowed himself to be pulled back. “You know,” he drawled conversationally, “The work of the mage who created the Miraculous gems provided something of an inspiration for when I was working on the Amulet of Daylight.” Jim and Ladybug looked at each other in surprise, and then smiled at that tendril of connection.

“But wait, what do you mean, when you…” Ladybug started, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“Who _are_ you, exactly?” Chat Noir asked. He had been under the impression that this Trollhunter business had been going on for an incredibly long time.

“Guys, this is-” Jim started.

“Merlin,” everyone else in the room stated with varying degrees of irritation.

 _“Merlin?”_ Chat couldn’t help but repeat. _"Seriously?!"_

Ladybug looked at him sheepishly. _“Oh, whoops, I forgot to mention him, didn’t I?”_ she muttered in French.

“Here, hang on,” Jim stepped up to stand next to Ladybug and gestured around the room ( _Wait._ He DID have four fingers on his right hand! And five on the left! Wild.) “Everyone, this is Ladybug and Chat Noir. They’re superheroes from Paris, and they can’t be gone from there for long, but they should be able to help out for a few hours. Ladybug, Chat,” he started to point to each person he named, “this is my mentor and trainer Blinky, who you guessed, and yeah, that’s Merlin. You’ve heard of him before. That’s my mom, Barbara, there’s Claire and Toby, my best friends. Aaarrrgghh, also my trainer; don’t be scared, he is super nice. That’s NotEnrique, the changeling of Claire’s brother, Enrique, although he can’t transform anymore. And that’s Strickler and Nomura, also changelings, but they’re all on our side against Gunmar.”

Ladybug nodded as each person was introduced, committing to memory the faces that matched the stories she’d been hearing, but she couldn’t help but do a double-take at the last two who were introduced, the changelings that Jim had confided in her about, flicking her eyes between Strickler and Barbara briefly and stifling a smile.

“What’s a changeling?” Chat Noir asked, cocking his head to one side, trying to find the similarity between the small green gargoyle-looking creature and the two perfectly normal-looking adults.

Without a word, the air sputtered and sparked around Nomura before a charge of hot pink energy raced across her human visage, suddenly growing in height to seven feet, joints becoming sharp, skin turning to shiny magenta stone with eyes that glowed green, not unlike Chat Noir’s. His own had widened considerably, the false ears on his head twitching spastically with interest. “We can transform between human and troll,” she finally answered to accompany her demonstration.

“We won’t bore you with the details as to how and why, though,” Strickler casually added, not wanting to stir up any tangents leading into uncomfortable history when there were more pressing matters at hand. “Whereabouts would be the best placement in battle for our new allies, do you think, Young Atlas?”

Jim took a moment to look at the two newcomers, then around the room at the assembled fighters. “I think it would actually be best if both of you stuck with Claire and helped protect people in the Square from Gumm-Gumms.”

“I don’t need to be protected, Jim,” Claire was very firm in saying, leveling a stern glare at her boyfriend.

Jim, for his part, only looked confused at the suggestion. “What? No, that’s not what I meant, I know you can take care of yourself! It’s just that you’re the only one that can send them home, and if they get word about their _own_ emergency in Paris, it would be best if you were already nearby to create a portal.”

That actually mollified her completely, her defensive posture relaxing. “Oh. That actually does make sense, yeah.” She gave him a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”

“Jim,” Ladybug spoke up. “I appreciate your concern, I really do, but that shouldn’t be your focus. We’re here to help in whatever way we can, and I’m afraid treating us like we need to run away at the drop of Papillon’s hat isn’t going to put us in the best position for the coming battle. As long as we know where to find Claire, that should be good enough.”

Chat Noir’s face actually lit up as he held up his hands in a sudden idea. “Oh wait! Here!” He took his baton from his back and fiddled with it a bit before it produced a couple of small, silver disks, which he handed to Claire and then Jim. “Keep these on you and we can track wherever you are.”

“You have _tracking devices?_ ” Jim asked in surprise, inspecting the disk that had been handed to him before tucking it carefully under his armor, Claire doing the same.

“Awesome sauce!” Tobias gushed out.

Chat Noir just shrugged with a sly grin, “You never know when it’ll come in handy!”

Strickler spoke up then. “If you don't mind enlightening those of us who don't know the details about superheroes, can you share your abilities so that we might better know what to expect from you in battle?”

It shouldn't have been as much of a surprise as it was when Toby was actually the one who started rattling off the different powers and abilities that Ladybug and Chat Noir had both displayed in their more widely publicized akuma battles. Including taking charge of directing where the two new heroes could be used in battle against the trolls, citing their different abilities with a shocking amount of familiarity. 

"How do you know all of this?" Chat Noir asked. 

Toby shrugged with a self-satisfied smirk, "There are real-life superheroes in the world and you think I wouldn't be paying attention? I read every update on the Ladyblog! I'm one of her top commenters!"

"Wait," Jim asked, "You speak French?"

"What? No way, man, you know how bad I do at that kind of stuff! But somebody named model-of-a-weeb is out there doing God's work and putting subtitles and translations on every blog update." Ladybug glanced curiously at Chat Noir as he coughed a few times before smiling sheepishly at her in reassurance.

Barbara chose to recap. “So a lot of it boils down to Chat Noir's primary ability being this Cataclysm, the destruction of one thing he chooses to touch, whereas Ladybug’s primary ability is Lucky Charm? Which...I'm actually not sure I followed what exactly it does,” she admitted.

Ladybug gave a kind of chagrined smile and half shrug. “Lucky Charm basically creates an object that would be most useful to solve the situation, but it has to be used in a creative way. I'm always able to find the way to best use it, but it's almost never obvious. At the end, though, I can use the Lucky Charm to restore all the damage done by the rampaging akumas.”

Strickler was standing there deep in thought, holding his elbow in one hand while stroking his chin with the other. “The thought occurs to me to try and have one or both of them attempt to interrupt the Eternal Night or even try to restore the Heartstone.”

Chat Noir broke in to ask, “Does the Eternal Night have a single focus of some kind that can be destroyed to end the spell?”

Merlin interrupted the idea, though, saying, “If there is, it would be nearly impossible to destroy; it would have to be another magic of equal power to do so.”

“My thoughts purr-cisely,” Chat grinned in response.

Toby gasped in realization, “Oh my gosh! Cataclysm!!”

Chat Noir winked and replied, _“Oui!”_

But Merlin only shook his head, saying, “The best I can extrapolate, the Eternal Night is not tied to any one specific object, not even the Heartstone, but instead is built of components. Once the spell is enacted, it will take another wizard to undo it strand by magical strand. The Heartstone, however, may be worth trying to restore. I need to go down into Trollmarket to face Morgana, or all of this will be for naught. If the Heartstone can be restored, it will be that much less power that she will be able to draw from.”

“Then how about Ladybug goes to Trollmarket with Merlin and Aaarrrgghh,” Jim concluded, “where she can attempt to restore the Heartstone. Chat Noir, however, can join the rest of us on the surface to fight off the Gumm-Gumms and protect people in the square. He can move out and be an extra fighter on the lines before the Eternal Night clears the way for the rest of the troll army. Maybe if you can find a way to creatively use Cataclysm to catch as many of them as you can at once, that would be great.”

“Sorry to be a buzzkill,” Claire piped up, “but I have to ask. What are the chances that Morgana will recognize Ladybug as someone who holds a powerful magical object?”

“What do you mean?” Jim asked.

“I mean, I've seen inside her head, and that is definitely a woman who will do what it takes to get what she wants. I'm kind of worried that if she sees Ladybug and recognizes her as wearing something that sounds like it's pretty up there in terms of magical power, like the Trollhunter Amulet, what are the chances that Morgana will try to use it?”

“That...is an upsetting notion,” Blinky admitted, looking nervously at the superhero in question.

“And not terribly far from a likely possibility,” Merlin confessed. “Having the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous gems on our side of the battle is a tremendous boon, but we cannot allow Morgana to take them for herself. If I am to understand their nature correctly, they are not quite so tied to their wielder as the Trollhunter Amulet is.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Chat Noir said grimly.

“Not only that,” Merlin continued, “but it is not difficult to sense their power if one knows what to look for. If Ladybug were to join battle against Morgana, my old apprentice would definitely try to determine what grants her abilities.”

“So I just need to make sure she doesn't see me, then,” Ladybug concluded. “I can go in with you, but if I’m careful and stealthy, she won’t know I'm there. Maybe you and Aaarrrgghh can go in and distract her with battle, and I can sneak around her to get to the Heartstone. You just have to draw her out.”

“That sounds like the plan, then,” Jim spoke firmly. "It's worth mentioning, by the way, that if anyone else is likely to recognize the Miraculous gems, it's going to be Angor Rot. He's not as powerful as Morgana, and we've beaten him before, but he is her champion and practices sorcery, just so you know."

Blinky stepped forward, spreading his arms wide as he spoke with great gravity, “The moment of truth is upon us all. With fortitude and bravery we can _end_ the threat posed by Morgana, Gunmar, and Anger Rot _for all time!”_

Toby's shout of enthusiasm into the silence of the rest of the room was made only slightly more awkward when Chat Noir actually started to join him and then cut off upon seeing no one else doing so. 

“I-it definitely felt like we were all gonna do that,” Toby said, finally putting his arms down, though his enthusiasm wasn’t dimmed in the slightest, his grin wide. “Thanks for trying anyway, dude!” He held his fist up to Chat Noir and got a prompt bump and a wry grin in reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well now, how is THIS all gonna work out…?  
> Also, I feel like I need to preemptively apologize for any chapter breaks that seem weird. It’s just...y’all. This entire finale? Everything that takes place inside of the scope of Trollhunters' last two episodes? This was an ENORMOUS part of my NaNoWriMo word count. So it all kind of ran together starting with Chapter 17 without any regard to chapter breaks or anything. I’ve had to make like Tolkien and just chop it up into more manageable pieces, haha! Bear with me!  
> Also, my dudes. My lovelies. I need to warn you. I am a) terrible at puns, and b) terrible at strategy. I'm doing my best to keep Chat's dialogue in character, but I'm literally looking up cat pun websites, and that's when I REMEMBER to try to work a pun in. And as for the battle? I'm gonna do my best to make it awesome, I swear I am, but please be gentle, haha!


	20. Superfoods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Changelings, cheese, and trust.

After Blinky’s proclamation, people began to split into different directions to begin preparations, including Merlin pointing at NotEnrique and demanding the ex-changeling join him in the kitchen for a special mission.

Ladybug pulled Jim aside to speak to him, along with Chat Noir. “Hey,” she said, “just so you know, we didn't exactly have a chance to stock up on our supplies to recharge before we left Paris. You said something about cookies for me?” Here, she turned to her partner, “And what is it you will need after Cataclysm?”

Chat Noir awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and averted his eyes, face turning red with a blush. “It can be a little specific...camembert cheese is most effective, and I’ve got some with me, but if you don't have that exactly, pretty much the smelliest cheese you can find will do.”

Jim nodded, “Let me see what I can find in the kitchen. Although...” he looked around at the milling bodies. “Hey Tobes!”

His best friend came trotting over, “Yeah, Jimbo?”

“Can you go see if your Nana has any cookies already baked? I think I heard her say she was going to work on a batch for everybody. Cookies just so happen to be Ladybug's secret weapon.”

Toby executed a two-finger salute, snapping out, “Roger that, Trollhunter! Be right back with the snacks!”

“And some Nougat Nummies if you have them!” Jim called after his retreating form. “And now we raid the pantry,” he said, walking into the kitchen with a gesture to his two tag-alongs. What he found was Merlin stirring something in a mixing bowl while also simultaneously beating NotEnrique off from tasting whatever it was. As Jim stepped to the refrigerator to investigate whatever contents were left, he asked, “Merlin, won't all these earthquakes damage the Darklands?” _Bleu cheese dressing, maybe? I_ know _we don’t have camembert, but maybe...oh wait! I remember!_

“It'll crumble to bits I fear,” Merlin answered with characteristic nonchalance. “Are you concerned for the changeling familiars?”

Jim straightened up with a selection of cheesy options in his hands, distractedly placing them on the countertop as he turned to face the wizard fully. “I promised to return for them. We need to save them.”

Merlin sighed as he slid a casserole dish into the microwave, Jim’s chef instincts shrieking in dismay. “I was afraid your heart would stop you from seeing the bigger picture today-” sparks and smoke and _yep, the microwave is ruined now. And probably the dish. Add it to the pile._ Even NotEnrique fled in fear of an explosion “-but! I might have a solution.” _Ding!_ Out came the blackened casserole dish with a...cluster of glowing crystals? He picked it up as if it _hadn’t_ just been a pyrotechnic display and held it out to NotEnrique, who took it curiously. “You. You'll be able to safely transport the babies using this Cradlestone.”

 _Chomp_. Predictably, the ex-changeling was not rewarded with an edible snack.

“Can you handle this on your own?” Jim asked, getting him to focus.

NotEnrique was nothing if not completely confident. “I know a guy who can lend a tiny hand, heheh!” he assured, before scampering off, the front door opening and shutting behind him.

 _“What was that about?”_ Chat Noir leaned over to ask Ladybug in French. She smiled at him sheepishly; he’d been an incredibly good sport about all of the craziness, taking the truth about Trolls and their impending war in graceful stride even with only minimal amounts of information.

“If I understand correctly,” she answered in English, glancing at Jim to make sure he was listening and could correct her, “A changeling can only transform into a human if the baby they were switched with at birth is safe and sound in the Darklands. When Jim rescued Claire's brother Enrique and brought him back to this side, that little guy,” she pointed after where NotEnrique had gone, “was no longer able to become human.”

“Switched at birth?” Chat asked, face scrunched in concern.

Jim nodded, but it was Merlin who answered, “Changelings were created by Morgana to be spies between troll and human societies. The method of doing so is quite unpleasant. I also imagine there is going to be a great many of them around the world that are going to have a nasty shock when they are unwillingly transformed out of their human disguises once the changeling and gnome return through the Fetch. Even inside the Cradlestone, crossing the threshold into this realm will break the connection between changelings and familiars.”

“Oh, crap, I hadn’t thought of that,” Jim realized, eyes going wide. He stepped to the kitchen doorway, raising his voice as he called, “Hey Strickler! Nomura!” One of them must have approached closer, because he lowered his voice as he explained what was happening, suggesting that someone get in touch with whoever might be able to spread the word and warn changelings that it would really be in their best interests to get underground and out of human sight as soon as possible. The voice that answered was female, so Ladybug had to assume it was Nomura.

Turning back to the kitchen, Jim caught sight of the different food items he had laid on the counter and seemed to be suddenly reminded of what he had been doing in the kitchen in the first place. “Oh yeah! Will any of that work for you?” he asked Chat Noir as he gestured to the pile.

He didn't want to admit it out loud for fear of being rude, but Chat was pleasantly surprised. “Actually, yeah!” he answered, picking out a package of stilton cheese, then hesitating as he realized he didn’t have anywhere to _put_ it. 

It was at that moment when the front door burst open with Toby's shout, “I come bearing sustenance by way of Nana Domzalski's famous chocolate chip cookies!”

Grinning a tusked smile, Jim tipped his head towards the front door and waved at the two to follow him. Toby was balancing quite a few plates, actually. “Wait,” Jim asked as he stepped forward to help his friend and relieve some of his burden, “How long has she been baking? How could she possibly have this many cookies already?”

“Don't underestimate the power of my Nana's drive to bake,” Tobias replied sagely. "Also, NotEnrique stole, like, ten on his way to get Gnome Chompsky."

Ladybug couldn't help but laugh. “That's a woman I could definitely get along with!” She and Jim seemed to share the look of an inside joke before they both just laughed. He handed her an entire plate just for her, which left her standing there with the same conundrum as Chat Noir, unable to actually put the food anywhere. “Um...is there somewhere private we can go for just a few minutes?”

“Sure,” Jim said, setting his cookie plates on a side table before leading them up the stairs. “I think Claire is putting on her armor in my room, but you can use my mom's room. She's getting ready to leave here in a minute.”

“Oh that's right!” Toby seemed to realize. “I need to get armored up! Can't let my besties go into battle looking cooler than me!” He also deposited cookies on a table before he dashed around the corner and it wasn't but a moment before they heard a tremendous crash and clatter. Jim winced at the sound and actually took a few steps back down the stairs.

“Actually, why don't you go on ahead? Mom's room is just to the right at the top of the stairs.” He cupped a hand around his mouth and raised his voice, “Mom? Can Ladybug and Chat Noir use your room for a little privacy? Superhero identity stuff!”

“Sure thing, hon!” Barbara's voice drifted back down, “I'll be done in a minute!” There seemed to be a pause as she realized something and she shouted even more sternly, “As long as it's ONLY superhero identity stuff!”

It was really quite amusing to see both Ladybug _and_ Chat Noir light up a bright red to match her signature color. “Oh, _mon DIEU!_ Not you, too!” Ladybug practically squealed, slapping one hand over her face even as Chat Noir looked away, chuckling awkwardly. What’s worse, they could actually hear Claire’s muffled laughter from the other upstairs bedroom.

“It’s not LIKE, that, Mom, I promise!” Jim called up, though it didn’t stop him from chuckling as he left them at the bottom of the stairs with a pat on Ladybug’s shoulder to go and help Toby.

Sheepishly, Chat Noir gestured at the stairs, “Ladies first?”

With what she felt like was an admirable show of restraint, Ladybug did NOT act as though she held Chat Noir responsible for everyone else's assumptions. Instead, she just let out an exasperated sigh before walking up the stairs, her partner following after her. They weren't even at the top when a door just to the right at the top opened and Barbara emerged, dressed in light green scrubs. They stood politely back, leaving the path to the stairs clear for her, but instead of passing by, she stopped and faced them both.

“There's a lot that's been going on lately,” she started by saying, “and I don't know yet how it is that Jim is friends with you, but I want to make sure I thank you myself for coming to help.” Her mouth slanted into a rueful smile, even as pride shone clearly in her eyes. “That's my boy down there, and it means a lot to me that he has such dedicated friends as to travel halfway around the world and jump into a WAR just to watch his back. I know that he's been up to some pretty dangerous things and he's still come out on top, because he's strong, but still, I want to thank you anyway.”

Ladybug's smile was wide and sincere even as she stepped forward and laid a gentle hand on Barbara's shoulder. “It is our honor, Dr. Lake, to be here. I only hope we will be able to accomplish as much good as everyone is relying on us to do.” Chat Noir nodded firmly in agreement.

The woman smiled at that, reaching up to squeeze the hand on her shoulder, “Don’t be shy about calling me again if you know he needs help when you’re not around, either!” she insisted with something of a watery smile, to which Ladybug easily agreed, as long as Barbara did the same. Promise secured, she seemed to steel herself to turn and walk down the stairs. None of them had realized, though, that Jim had been standing at the bottom watching the exchange, his arms full of pieces of bronze colored armor and eyes fixed on his mother, Toby standing behind with more of the same. Jim turned aside to let her pass and set his armload down on the ground, muttering to Toby to go on ahead before walking over to where his mother stood by the front door. Gently, Ladybug took Chat’s shoulder to lead him into the now empty bedroom as Tobias clambered his way up the stairs. She had a feeling they ought not witness the private conversation that was about to happen between mother and son.

“I guess you want to take turns?” Chat asked. “I’ll watch the door for you.”

“Actually,” Ladybug took a deep breath. “I think we need to have a conversation with our kwamis, all four of us together. We can just sit back to back.” She looked him in the eye and smiled. “I trust you.”

His ears perked up as he smiled at that, though they were interrupted by Tobias’ voice behind them. “Do...do you not know each other’s secret identities...?” he asked.

Ladybug had known it was a mistake to underestimate how observant and even shrewd Toby could be. She had heard enough from Jim about their different escapades to understand the stout boy's abilities. Even so, it could still be kind of alarming to be on the receiving end of his deductive powers.

“It's too dangerous,” Ladybug replied. “Anyone that Papillon can take over runs the risk of sharing all of their secrets with him. If either Chat Noir or myself were to be taken over and we knew what the other’s identity was, we would both be exposed in one go. That's why we're not able to share our identities with anyone, because it's a risk that Papillon will be able to find out.” Inwardly, she was desperately hoping that he would not know or would not have made the connection by now that there was at least one person in the house that knew her identity. She and Jim were probably not being as subtle as they should have been in regards to how much they knew about one another. Luckily, he hadn't slipped and called her by her first name, yet.

“Wow,” Toby responded, bringing her out of her mental fretting. “That's a lot of trust that you show in each other, then.”

Honestly, it was not the reaction they usually got when people heard about their own self-inflicted secrecy. Chat Noir spoke up, asking, “What do you mean?”

“Well,” Tobias said, “I get that you two fight battles together all the time, so there's that kind of battlefield camaraderie. Trust me, I really do get that, but it's got to run a lot deeper for you, too, if you're not able to share your identities outside of that. So the kind of trust that you have in each other even without knowing your names, that's pretty awesome sauce.” And with those final words, he adjusted his grip on the pieces of armor in his hands before shuffling off to the bedroom a little bit farther down on the landing. “Claire! If you're decent, can you open the door? I don't have hands!” She did so with the laugh even as they all heard the heavy thumping of Jim finally coming up the stairs. Ladybug and Chat Noir retreated into the privacy of Barbara's bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title is so lame, I’m so sorry 🤣 This is a weird little interlude, but it was either cut it here and make this a small chapter, or the next one absolutely humongous, haha! And frankly, I need all the time I can get to iron out upcoming chapters. I’m running out of pre-written cushion! 😬


	21. Masks and Secrets and the Armor Both Provide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Little announcement here, folks!**  
>  Everyone’s been SO kind and enthusiastic and supportive that I’m sorry to say I’ll need to slow my updates down a bit. Up to now has basically been everything I wrote for NaNoWriMo back in November, but we’re catching up to what I’ve got finished. I’m gonna have to slow my updates down to Mondays and Fridays (instead of three times a week), hopefully giving me time to keep up to finish strong!

“Here,” Ladybug said once they were inside Barbara’s bedroom, “you sit on one side, and I'll sit on the other, back to back.” And they arranged themselves as such. Once they were settled, there was a beat, then in almost perfect tandem, they spoke the words aloud to drop their transformations. Marinette took one thing out before she started packing the plate of cookies into the small purse that vanished along with her clothes in the transformation while Tikki looked over her shoulder in curiosity. 

“This had better be good enough for you,” Chat was saying behind her. To his kwami? A small, nasally voice spoke up in response.

“Weeeeeeell, it’s not exactly camembert...” he wheedled.

“Are you sure I didn’t get the  _ pig _ Miraculous?” Chat complained. 

Tikki giggled, moving out of Marinette’s vision to Chat’s side of the bed, “Hello, Chat Noir, I’m Tikki! And you haven’t changed one bit, have you, Plagg?”

“Why should I change?” Plagg’s voice responded. “I’m perfect as-is!”

_ That _ got the most incredulous and sarcastic laugh from Chat Noir that Marinette had ever heard. “Sounds like you don’t agree?” she asked with a grin.

“Oh, I have some  _ notes _ to share, as if he’d ever listen to them!”

“Mmm…” the little voice seemed to consider for a moment, then, “Nah!” Suddenly there was a streak of black and a new face was hovering about a foot in front of Marinette’s. “Well hello there, Ladybug! I’d say long time no see, but-”

_ “PLAGG!” _ Tikki shrieked, zipping through the air to tackle the little black kwami, sending them tumbling in a crazy wobble through the air. “Don’t you  _ dare _ give anything away!” Marinette felt her heart swell a little bit to have her kwami defending her identity so fiercely, and almost said as much when Tikki continued, “You are  _ not  _ going to ruin this for me!”

“Wait, what?” Now she was confused. “Ruin what?”

“Nothing!” Tikki chirped, her expression the picture of nonchalance even as she was holding Plagg’s tail across his mouth like a gag. “Now, if I can leave you here to  _ behave _ , I need to run and do something real quick, but I’ll be right back!”

Marinette felt confused, almost asking what on earth she would need to do, when suddenly there was a rise of voices and laughter coming through the wall behind the headboard and she suddenly understood. Marinette pointed to the wall and cocked her head in question, Tikki just smiling with a nod. She wanted to see Jim face-to-face! With a little giggle, Tikki shot through the wall and it was barely a second later when they could hear muffled voices in response, 

_ “Oh my gosh, what is that?!” _ Toby cried in alarm.

_ “Are you kidding me?” _ Jim’s voice, on the other hand, was nothing but delighted glee.  _ “How are you  _ actually _ that ADORABLE?!” _

“Did she just...?” Chat asked. 

“She wanted to say hi to Jim,” Marinette laughed.

“My Lady,” Chat Noir paused for a pregnant moment before continuing. “He knows your identity, doesn't he?” 

Marinette knew she wasn't being terribly inventive when all she could do was stutter out the word, “W-what?” 

Chat huffed a short little laugh, “Jim. He knows your secret identity, doesn't he? You two just act more familiar around one another than I'd expect. And he knew about the fact that you needed something to recharge after using your ability. And, well, your kwami seems familiar to him, too.”

“Chat, I...” Except she didn't know how to explain. For all that she had just told Toby the reasoning they had always had for keeping the secret, and for all that Chat Noir had always  _ supported _ her in keeping that secret, it was no secret to her that he craved the real trust in knowing that they could share their identities. But he respected her wishes and did not pry. She could only imagine how he must be feeling, then, to find somebody half a world away that knew the one piece of information that was so consistently denied to him.

“Being the Trollhunter was his secret at first, too,” she admitted quietly. When he didn't interrupt, just staying still and quiet, she continued. “We started out as pen pals, talking about normal teenage stuff. Then I got the Miraculous and had to keep the secret. Even from the friend I had made that let me talk about anything. Later on, we started to do video calls instead of letters and one day he just seemed so stressed, like he was keeping a secret. I had started to recognize that kind of thing, you know? He tried to deny it, but I told him it was fine that he had a secret, it's not like I was being totally honest either. And for a while, it helped, you know? Having somebody else that could accept the fact that you had a secret without prying into what exactly it was. He had his, I had mine, and we could talk to each other about it without sharing the details. Then, one day, he was in a panic because something dangerous had happened and he didn't know what else to do. I think that was one of those days when you helped calm me down, actually. That was when he had accidentally given enough hints for my kwami to figure out the fact that he is the Trollhunter. She and Master Fu explained the rest to me. So, he didn't share his secret on purpose, I kind of figured him out. Trolls have been around for at least as long as the miraculous gems have, so there were times when our worlds overlapped. There have even been troll miraculous holders, you know?”

“And did he figure out your secret, too?” Chat asked quietly. 

The silence between them grew long and heavy before Marinette quietly whispered, “No. He didn't figure it out. I told him.”

To the side, Marinette thought she saw his hand shift on top of the bedspread. Closing her eyes to resist the temptation to look more carefully, she reached out and laid her hand on top of his. She heard him gasp before his hand turned over and laced their fingers together, squeezing tightly. “I'm sorry,” she said. “I really want you to know that it's not that I trust him more than you, Chat, I promise. It's just...Papillon can't reach him here, you know?”

“I know, Ladybug,” he murmured. “I'm just...I'm just really super jealous, if I'm being honest. Which kind of sucks because it makes me want to hate him, but he's also really cool and very nice.”

That got a quick burst of laughter out of her. “The whole identity thing is really not that great, you know. I'm kind of afraid that one day you'll find out and be…” She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence and say the word ‘disappointed.’

“Grateful,” he finished for her, instead. “The day when we are able to share our identities will be one I'm grateful for, no matter who you are under the spots.”

This time, she was the one that squeezed his hand. “Thank you, Chat.”

“Also, we are going to be able to pass the time for patrols for the next few  _ months _ with all of the explanations you're going to have to give me!”

Again, Marinette burst out into laughter. “What do you mean?”

“What I mean is that trolls are real! And the quick explanation you gave me before coming here really didn't cover a whole lot! By the way, I don't know if you noticed, but your pen pal is made of blue stone. But his mom is not. So there's definitely a story there. Also, did I mention freaking MERLIN?!”

Now Marinette was beginning to giggle uncontrollably at the increased tempo of Chat's words. She knew what he was doing, and she was glad to let him. He's using his ridiculousness to ease the tension and relax her from her stress. It was a tried and true method and something that made her grateful for him all over again.

“Do you have any IMMEDIATE concerns that we need to answer right now? Something about the upcoming fight and not just your curiosity?”

“Troll weaknesses, I guess? Seems like a good place to start.”

“Sunlight for one,” she said, “but with the whole scary sounding spell called Eternal Night, I doubt that's going to be very helpful to us today.”

They talked for a little while longer, Tikki coming back at some point, exchanging questions and answers, at least as much as Marinette was able to. All those months talking to Jim about his crazy double life and she had not been prepared for a final exam. “You know what?” She asked. “Why don't we suit up again and ask them ourselves? They should be getting ready to go, soon.”

Almost in perfect tandem again, they spoke their kwami’s names and…

“Plagg-”

“Tikki-”

_ “Transformez-moi!” _

“Also,” Chat spoke up after the magic settled, twisting to the side so he could look at her again, “forgive me for stating the obvious, but this is shaping up to be a lot more...lethal...than we usually end up dealing with.”

That caused Ladybug to freeze. He was right of course, but hearing it out loud made her realize that while she had known for  _ some time  _ that Jim’s battles were so much more deadly than any she had engaged in, maybe she hadn’t properly warned Chat about that?

“I...you’re right,” she agreed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t...didn’t warn you very well, did I? Will you be okay with that? You can maybe focus on getting civilians away if you don’t want to kill-”

“Oh, no!” he interrupted, looking surprised. “That’s not what I meant! I’m just worried about you! I just wanted to say...please be safe?”

At first she was surprised, then she couldn’t help but laugh it off a little. “Me? I’ll be sneaking around while Merlin and Aaarrrgghh start the actual battle.  _ You’re _ going to be in the thick of everything, Chat!”

“If I understand correctly,” he countered, “Gumm-Gumms are just bruisers and cannon-fodder. We deal with that all the time! But if Morgana sees you and figures it out? I’m afraid she’s going to be like another Papillon with eyes for your Miraculous, only  _ she’s _ got the power to go after you directly instead of using puppets.  _ Please _ be careful, My Lady!” At the last, he took one of her hands in both of his, holding it tight to emphasize his pleading.

Solemnly, Ladybug nodded, placing her other hand on top of his. “I promise, I’ll be careful,” she swore. “And you, too!” To which Chat immediately nodded. Then, with a mischievous little grin, he lifted her hands up to place a quick kiss on the knuckles of both. Before she could do anything more than try to swat (and miss) at him in surprised indignation, he danced out of her reach to the door to slip out, only barely avoiding Tobias as the armor-clad boy made a frantic dash to the bathroom. With Ladybug almost on his literal tail, he darted into the next bedroom over and practically dove behind Jim’s solidly imposing form.

_ “What _ the-?” The Trollhunter started in surprise, first at Chat, and then at Ladybug in the doorway, who couldn’t seem to find the words she wanted, only pointing a stern finger at her partner. She may have eventually formulated something to say, if Chat hadn’t caught a look at Claire in her vibrant purple armor, making him stand up straighter, jaw dropping, causing Ladybug to look at the other girl, as well.

“That is  _ très incroyable!” _ Chat gushed, leaving his ‘protection’ behind Jim to step closer to Claire. “Is this magic, too?”

Claire laughed, “I  _ wish! _ Maybe it wouldn’t be so heavy then!”

“Nope!” Jim cut in. “Magical armor is still heavy,” he assured them. “Though it’s not nearly so bad now as it used to be…” He rolled his shoulders a couple times as if to confirm his statement.

Claire smiled at that, then finished, “But no, Merlin made some for me and Toby for the upcoming fight, unfortunately non-magical.”

“Miss Nuñez,” they heard Strickler’s voice calling from downstairs, “Mr. Domzalski, the Battle of the Bands will be starting soon, we need to leave now to take our places." There was a round of glances as everyone looked at the others before filing out of Jim’s bedroom without another word, Claire silently taking her boyfriend’s hand. Ladybug and Chat Noir led the way down the stairs where Strickler stood with Nomura (human once more) in the front foyer, turning to address Ladybug, “Merlin and Aaarrrgghh will be taking the tunnel in the basement to get to Trollmarket through the sewers. Blinky will also go with them for a part of the way before splitting off to gather our troll allies. I believe they are down there ready to depart.” 

She nodded, turning to look at the others. “Sounds like that’s my train about to leave the station,” she smiled, “So I guess it’s time that I leave you with the Ladybug trademark!” She lifted her arms to strike a ‘strong’ pose, saying with as much gusto as possible,  _ “Good! Luck!”  _ Her antics got some smiles and chuckles, which is exactly what she wanted, so she smiled in return, lifting her hand for high-fives all around, even for the changelings, though Strickler was a little slow on the uptake in his surprise. “See you on the other side!” She turned and...didn’t know where she was going. Sheepishly, she asked, “Jim, where’s the basement?”

That caused even  _ more _ laughter, but still he directed her to the door behind the stairs and then she was gone with a wave. Then…

_ “OH MON DIEU,  _ **_JIM!_ ** _ ” _ Said Trollhunter jumped in alarm and spun towards Ladybug’s voice ringing from the basement. “You didn’t tell me she painted  _ more!!” _

His face melted into a sheepish grin, but before Jim had a chance to respond, the sound of Merlin’s clearly annoyed voice drifted up, “If you  _ don’t mind _ can we PLEASE move along?” With some indistinct Ladybug mumbling, the basement went silent, though Jim didn’t doubt he’d be hearing from her about his mom’s paintings later...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you believe the last chapter AND this one might have kept going into the NEXT? I had to do some serious chopping up, I tell you what. It’s especially ridiculous, considering some of my earlier entire chapters existed as a single page in my Google Doc. What can I say? Inspiration carried me away!  
> And, yes, I’m a sucker for pre-reveal tenderness. Also, I’m...pretty sure I’ve used that bit with Tikki tackling Plagg mid-air in a fic before? Like, it felt SO familiar when I wrote it, but I can’t remember where? I didn’t subconsciously steal it from another fic, did I…? Anyway, I think it’s hilarious, Tikki watching the drama of their cluelessness until they figure out each other’s identity for themselves.


	22. Setting the Stage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I’m having trouble naming chapters now that I can’t just steal episode titles anymore, haha! I’m not going to have ten different chapters called “The Eternal Knight Part #” or whatever, so now you get...whatever that is. 🤣

“And now we must be off,” Strickler addressed the others standing there. “Will you be waiting here, then, Young Atlas?” Chat was confused for a moment before he realized Strickler had been addressing Jim.

Thinking back on what Greek mythology he knew, Chat looked at the tall, half-troll teenager and...yeah. He could definitely see the heavy weight upon those shoulders, sturdy and broad as they were. The nickname suited him.

Jim nodded to answer the question. “As soon as the Eternal Night takes care of the sun, I’m heading for the square.”

“Understood. The rest of us," he looked around at his fellow changeling and the other three teenagers, "we can take my car."

"Can't we just portal there?" Toby asked, but Strickler shook his head.

"With as busy as it's going to be, there's no telling where we could portal to that we will not be seen upon our exit. It would be best if we arrived incognito to avoid causing alarm." To which Claire and Toby shared a glance and shrugged before everyone headed outside, the two of them lingering to offer Jim temporary goodbyes and parting hugs.

Nomura (naturally) got the front seat, which left the back seat to be a bit of a squish, Toby in the middle with Claire and Chat Noir on either side, with much clattering of armor. Chat was relieved to discover Toby's warhammer and Claire’s staff both shrank into their handles, making that much less to try and fit in the sedan. He’d participated in his fair share of awkward car rides sharing space with photoshoot equipment and set pieces when there had to be a sudden relocation due to weather. And cows. He mentally cringed at THAT memory.

Once they got moving, Toby twisted a bit to address Chat Noir, successfully drawing him from his thoughts, “So, you ready to ride with the Trollhunters and face some Gumm-Gumms, Mr. Big Bad Superhero?”

Chat laughed, saying, “Ready as I’ll ever be, considering I didn’t know trolls even _existed_ an hour ago! But I’d say I’ve faced my fair share of brainwashed minions. Because that’s what Gunbar does, right?”

“Gunmar,” Strickler corrected, the tone of voice reverting to that of a teacher. “But for those who refuse to follow him, yes, he takes control of their will with his Decimaar Blade, very often sending them to march into immediate death.”

“Well that’s just a purr use of resources,” Chat muttered in distaste. Toby snorted, even as everyone else ignored the pun.

“Do you think I should just make an announcement about everything that’s about to happen when my band gets up to play?” Claire leaned forward to ask. “If the show gets that far? I mean, I’m going to have the microphone anyway.”

“Worth a shot,” Nomura said. “Not sure if anyone will actually listen to the warning, but they’ll catch on soon enough.”

“Before we get all the way there,” Chat spoke up, “can you let me off someplace discrete about a block away?” He could see Strickler glance in his rear-view mirror in question. “I want to scope out the area as a civilian to get familiar with the layout. I don’t think a tourist in a catsuit is going to be paw-sitively subtle.” Claire and Toby giggled at that and he grinned at them with a wink.

“How will you know what the signal to showdown is?” Toby asked.

“Something tells me a spell called ‘The Eternal Night’ is going to be fairly eye catching,” Claire drawled sarcastically. 

“Thaaaaaat’s probably true,” Toby conceded with a sage nod.

“Sure,” Chat agreed. “I’ll walk the purr-imeter until the day becomes night? I guess? Then join you in the square when that happens.”

“Hey, why don’t you take my phone number, just in case.” Claire offered. “Ladybug apparently already has it, I guess?” Chat agreed and pulled out his baton to input Claire’s number, and then Toby’s immediately after upon his insistence. And then Jim’s, because that made sense to all three of them.

“As a note,” Strickler spoke again as he navigated traffic, “Besides the trolls you’ve already met, we will have other allies on the field of various shapes and sizes. Gumm-Gumms will be fairly easily recognizable by their general mindless cruelty and murderous demeanor, not to mention uniform black armor. Do try not to get anyone mixed up.”

“Roger that!” Chat gave a two-fingered salute.

“Aaaaaand here we are,” the man said as he pulled into a parking lot behind what used to be a video rental store. There were no pedestrians in sight and the building blocked the view of the road. “The stage for Battle of the Bands is set up in the square in front of the museum, recognizable by its clocktower, just a block in that direction,” Strickler pointed.

“See ya on the flip side!” Toby said, scooting over into the vacated space as Chat Noir got out of the car. He waited until they had driven away before allowing his transformation to drop. Even then, he allowed a moment more to make sure the car had driven out of sight so they didn't see a conspicuous blonde teenage model walk out from the same place where they had dropped off the cat-themed superhero. 

On his way to hide in the shoulder bag Adrien had across his torso, Plagg suggested, “Now that you're out and about, and nobody else is around, how about you make a stop and get some REAL cheese for me?"

Adrien scowled at his kwami, “We're not here to play tourists and consumers, Plagg! This is a reconnaissance mission! Besides, I don’t have the right currency.”

“Yeah, and? I don't see why you can't do both at the same time! And don’t tell me your dad’s plastic wouldn’t work here.”

“As if Nathalie wouldn’t see the charge.” Then Adrien sighed the sigh of the greatly put-upon, finally saying “I will not LOOK for a cheese shop, but if I happen to NOTICE one, I MIGHT stop in-”

“Yes!”

“-if only to get you to be quiet!” he finished, stuffing the little black cat back into his bag before emerging onto the sidewalk, heading in the direction Strickler had indicated. “And don’t touch what’s already in there! It’s for emergencies!” As he walked, he debated about checking his phone for any messages or news, but worried about the kind of trouble he would get in if any international charges showed up on the cell phone bill. His father certainly wouldn't notice, but again, Nathalie definitely would. So he pulled out his phone and turned it off entirely, just in case. It was after midnight at home, anyway. If he needed to check the news, he could do it from his baton once he was transformed again.

It didn't take long to join what seemed to be a crowd of people heading in the same general direction. He listened to their chatter, and it mostly seemed to be enthusiasm about the end of the school year, especially from the people that look to be about his age, a range of emotions about the Battle of the Bands itself, from excitement to indifference to dread, and concern for the earthquakes that had been happening all day, apparently. Adrian actually had to stop and wonder why people didn't seem to be more concerned? But then, he had always heard that California, especially the LA area, did tend to be prone to earthquakes. So maybe they were just used to it? Even if the earthquakes this time were magically induced. 

Finally reaching the square, he did a quick scan of the buildings around and spotted the museum with its clock tower. It took some looking over the heads of the crowd to spot the stage, but at least then he knew where most of the crowd would be gathered. Instead of heading straight there, he began to circle to the right around the square, taking mental notes of strategic locations; hiding spots for transformations, potential uses for not only his staff, but also Ladybug’s yo-yo (it had become a habit and he figured it wouldn’t hurt to continue now. She may or may not join the fight later on, so it wouldn't necessarily be a bad idea to know those things.) and any potential places for herding civilians to protect them from whatever kind of big, stony danger the Gumm-Gumms ended up being.

Despite what he said to Plagg about his enthusiasm for the idea, Adrian did stick to his word and kept an eye out for a cheese shop or someplace that may or may not satisfy his kwami's ridiculous taste for expensive cheeses. He had stopped to peer a little closer through one storefront when he heard a voice next to him, causing him to spin to face the speaker.

“Are you here for Battle of the Bands?” It was a girl that looked to be his age, with black hair and Asian facial features. He wasn’t positive, but he was pretty sure he’d caught the tail end of her looking him up and down. It was...a look he was fairly used to getting.

“Ah, _oui._ Yeah, I am!”

He could _see_ her eyes light up when he answered, and he wasn’t so naïve to think that it wasn’t because she heard his French accent. Her body language even changed a bit, becoming more coy. It took him a second of wondering why that seemed so familiar before he realized that he’d seen Chloé behave the exact same way. _“Oh,_ make sure you stick around to see MY band, then! We’re called Mama Skull and it’s going to be _so_ amazing!”

“Mary!” someone shouted, causing the girl speaking to him to jerk around toward the voice. It was another teenage girl with dark skin and fluffy black hair. “You said you were going to help me unload the drum set!”

 _“Uuuggh,_ one MINUTE, Darci!” With almost palpable amounts of reluctance, she turned back to face Adrien, “I gotta go, but maybe I’ll see you after the show?”

_If evil trolls don’t try to kill us all, maybe?_

“We’ll see how it goes!” he answered instead with a polite, photo-worthy smile.

That did the trick as she took a few steps backwards waving before turning away to trot to her friend. She was definitely _not_ all the way out of earshot when she started gushing about _ohmyGAWD, Darci, did you SEE him, he’s even FRENCH! He’s so cute I swear he could be a model! Crap, I forgot to get a picture-_ Adrien quickly turned away and walked in the other direction, to avoid hearing any more. Celebrity status or no, it never got comfortable to overhear people talking about you, so he decided to finish his ‘terrain scouting’ on the _other_ side of the square. As he did so, he heard the tuning chords of the opening band while he also caught glimpses of the others mingling in the crowd, Strickler and Nomura constantly scanning the crowded square, Toby making a bit of a ruckus as he had to wedge his way through the bodies closer to the stands, and he thought he maybe caught a glimpse of light reflecting off of Claire’s armor, but it was hard to tell.

He heard the name of the first band announced over loudspeaker, with the song starting not long after that. It was no Jagged Stone, but Adrien had to admit that it wasn’t bad. The act that followed, on the other hand…

_“It started out as a crush when she crushed my face, crushed my face!”_

“Is this what they call music here?” Plagg complained in French from the bag. Adrien quickly glanced around to see if anyone heard or saw the kwami, but not only were they far too distracted by the...performance, but he could also tell his reaction was shared pretty much universally.

“I’m guessing no one here is very impressed with the _cat_ erwaul,” he replied in the same language. Still, he was beginning to worry about when the fighting would start. If the acts kept up like _this_ , though-

_“Love is a cow on a ship in the air-”_

-people might clear the square early.

There was barely a warning rumble before the ground was shaking, people screaming in alarm, including the people on stage. Adrien stayed steady on his feet for the duration and decided enough was enough. He skirted around to the alley beside a movie theater even as the loudspeaker blasted out, “Aja Tarron, you literally rock my world!”

Adrien had to laugh. _Okay, maybe that kid won’t have a career in music, but points for being bold._ The speakers muffled as he got behind cover beside a dumpster, though it sounded like the next act was called DJ Crab? “Plagg,” he hissed, _“Transformez-moi!”_

The green sparks didn't attract any attention, so when he peeked his head out from behind the trash (enhanced senses while transformed was a _curse_ sometimes!) and saw the coast was clear, he used his baton to lift himself up to the roof of the theater. He was moving to the center of the roof where the neon marquee cast an excellent shadow for hiding when a new voice spoke out over the loudspeaker, “I am DJ Crap. Me!” Chat Noir may have stumbled a bit in surprise. Surely that hadn’t meant what he thought it meant? Did he mishear? He finished creeping his way behind the lip of the roof until he was in the shadow of the tall vertical signage. The music(?) of the new set started...odd. Were those dolphin and whale sounds? Yep, definitely dolphins. Looking out across the square, he saw two figures on stage, a boy at the turntables and a girl as a back-up dancer. They were both looking really into it, so...props for enthusiasm? The girl seemed to lean in the DJ’s direction to say something, there was a break in the sound, and then…

 _Oh man, now_ this _is something I wish Nino could be here to see!_

...the show took a turn for the _awesome_ . Deciding it couldn’t hurt while he was still waiting for the Eternal Night to begin, Chat took his baton out to record at least a little bit of the set. Even if he never got the chance to show it to his friend (how would he even _explain_ where he got this footage?) it wouldn’t hurt to have. The crowd started getting into it, including the ones that had begun drifting away after the last act. Even while his baton’s camera was pointed at the stage, Chat was careful to keep scanning the perimeter of the square. Then, to his utter surprise and alarm, he heard a voice on the other side of the marquee say, “They’re royalty, wherever they go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness gracious, now who could that be?? :3c  
> Oh, as for Mary, I contemplated the thought for all of 5 seconds whether or not she would flirt with Adrien and I realized that it HAD to happen. They were going to be in the same city-block radius? The same square?? I just couldn’t NOT have Mary try flirting with him, haha! The opportunity was too good.  
> (the photoshoot ruined by cows is a nod to my friend, to whom that actually happened, lol!)  
> As a reminder, next update will be on FRIDAY instead of Wednesday. (...if I can write what I need to write…next chapter is giving me more trouble than, like, any of the rest)


	23. The Fight is On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some tunnel traversing, Chat blows an alien’s cover, then things gets cookin'!

“I take it you are an appreciator of Barbara’s art, then?” Blinky asked of Ladybug as they made their way through the tunnel that led out of the Lake basement.

 _“Oui!”_ she answered brightly. “The first one Jim showed me was actually of _you, Monsieur_ Blinky. Jim was a little too upset at her memory coming back to appreciate it, though.”

“Oh dear,” Blinky’s considerable eyebrows furrowed at the through. “I do recall when that happened, actually. But you hadn’t seen any of the rest?”

Ladybug shook her head. “Just the one of Strickler. Though, to be honest, I hadn’t realized it was on such a large canvas! I wanted to take the pictures he sent me to a museum in Paris to get a professional opinion on them, but Jim warned me about changelings that might see Strickler and target me.”

“Well that certainly won’t be a problem for much longer,” Merlin stated dryly, stepping out of the Draal-carved tunnel and down into the sewers. Privately, Ladybug wondered what kind of mayhem was about to go down worldwide as changelings lost their human disguises. For a lot of reasons, troll secrecy being one of them, she really hoped Nomura had been able to get the word out, even on such short notice. It also really rubbed her the wrong way how nonchalant Merlin was being about that possibility. Not to mention the grief he’d caused for a NUMBER of different issues...

“My apologies for changing the subject, _Mademoiselle_ Ladybug,” Blinky was saying as he also hopped down from the rough-hewn tunnel to follow Merlin and Aaarrrgghh into the sewers, “but I will be parting ways with you shortly for my own task and I wanted to make sure you are aware; I do not know what state Trollmarket will be in when you see it, considering its occupation by Gumm-Gumms, but I do hope you will be able to appreciate what bare bones of our culture may yet shine through while you are down there.”

“This is hardly going to be a sightseeing trip,” Merlin scoffed, ever irritable.

“And yet, sights will still be seen,” Blinky retorted in kind. “I merely wanted to prepare her for what they may be.” Ignoring the cantankerous old man, he focused his multitude of eyes back on her, “Master Jim has spoken so very highly of you, Ladybug, and I know it’s been said many times already, but we are most grateful for your assistance, that you and _Monsieur_ Chat Noir would come to our aid. That being said,” he stopped walking at an intersection of tunnels while Merlin continued on to one side, Aaarrrgghh hesitating a moment before Blinky nodded at him to continue, leaving just he and Ladybug a moment of privacy before he went his own way, “Morgan le Fey is a powerful sorceress, and if your Lucky Charm cannot undo the damage she has wrought, there is no shame in that. It is of paramount importance, though, that she _not_ capture your magical gem, the Miraculous. Its power would not only be devastating in her grasp, but we all, Master Jim especially, would be devastated to lose you in this fight.”

As he was speaking, it became clear as glass to Ladybug why Jim had always spoken about Blinky with not just affection, but also _respect._ For all that she had been privileged to hear of some of the hijinks and misadventures all of the Trollhunters had been part of, her friend had still always circled back to his respect for Blinky, his trainer and teacher. The troll spoke with eloquence, yes, which had been the thing to surprise her at first, but behind his vocabulary there was compassion and wisdom. He would not dream to doubt her formidable abilities, but the way he cautioned against not necessarily the failure of her actual mission and instead the threat she placed herself in spoke of preparing for the worst case scenario and his concern for those involved.

He was worrying more about her coming back safely than whether or not the Heartstone, his people’s _lifeforce_ , could be restored.

"Blinky, I…" she was definitely taken aback. She didn’t know what else to do besides take one stony hand in each of hers, his lower set of hands coming up to clasp them together in turn, and swear, “I’ll be careful, I promise.”

She waited patiently while his many yellow eyes took in her solemn expression before he nodded, saying no more on the subject. He did, however, cast a wary eye (or three) at the wizard’s retreating back, murmuring to her, “And keep an eye on that wizard.”

"After what he did to Jim? _Absolument_ ," she agreed with a look that promised fierce retribution if she deemed it necessary.

***

_On the surface_

Chat Noir slid the screen on his baton closed, extending it into a staff as he carefully creeped backwards to peer around the sign to see who else was on the roof with him. He didn't know what he was expecting, but the figure crouched down wearing all shades of dark blue and glowing lines was not it. Not to mention the _hair_ that looked like cold blue fire, caught in one frozen moment. There also seemed to be a weapon at their feet, something that looked like a double-ended scythe with blades made of glowing blue energy.

_Who…?_

Chat wracked his brain, but he couldn’t remember any of the Trollhunters describing either an enemy or ally that looked like this. He double-checked and, yes, they were in full sunlight and clearly still moving, not stone, so not a troll? Strickler had advised there would be allies that _didn’t_ look menacing and murderous, but this was a difficult call to make. Instead, he clicked a quick picture with his staff, retreating back around to his side of the marquee while keeping his ears carefully pricked for movement even as he sent the picture and a quick message to Jim, Tobias, and Claire.

Chat Noir: Is this one of your people?  
Chat Noir: Or Gunmar's?

He wasn’t certain he would get a response, not with, well, all the other important things happening, so he was surprised to receive a response from Jim fairly quickly, the noise of the music covering up the slight beep. Chat supposed that with Jim left at the house alone to wait, he’d be anxious for communication.

Jim: ive...never seen anyone like that before  
Jim: this is chat right?  
Jim: where are you?

That was...worrisome, if even the Trollhunter didn’t recognize someone who was _clearly_ not a normal citizen of Arcadia.

Chat Noir: Oui, this is Chat. Désolé.  
Chat Noir: I’m on top of the movie theater, overlooking the square.  
Chat Noir: I will say, whoever they are, they’re enjoying the show?

Claire: Yeah, that’s definitely not a troll.  
Claire: Full sunlight and everything.

Tobias: Just showed it to Strict and Nom and yeah we dont know

Jim: strict and nom?  
Jim: nevermind. later

Claire: lol

Jim: chat keep an eye but dont do anything yet  
Jim: intervene if they attack civilians but dont make a scene before gunmar does

Chat Noir: Roger that! 🐱‍👤

Tobias: Oh my gosh I should have known  
Tobias: The Ladyblog was right you use cat emojis

Jim: not the time tobes

Tobias: Sorry

“I'm DJ Crap, and you've all been crap-tastic! Thank you Arcadia! Have a great summer!” 

Claire: I’ve gotta go!

Chat Noir: Okay, I’m sorry, but I need to ask, WHAT did he say his name is??  
Chat Noir: Break a leg!

Tobias: DJ Kleb? I think? Kind of a weird stage name, but they’re kind of weird kids

Jim: who?

Tobias: Aja and Krel

Jim: ah

Chat Noir: I must be mis-hearing it because I keep thinking he’s saying “crap.”  
Chat Noir: English may be my second language, but I’m still purr-ty sure that’s not what he was going for?

Tobias: Maybe? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

“Good job, whatever that was. And now! Mama Skull. Whatever that is.”

Tobias: Oh! This is Claire!

Chat re-focused and saw two girls walk on stage, the ones he had seen earlier, actually. The flirt (Mary?) had a guitar while her friend (Darci?) sat behind some drums. As they arranged themselves, Claire strode onstage heading directly for the microphone, her purple armor practically glowing under the sun and stage lights.

“Um, hello? Can I have your attention?” While Claire made her announcement, Chat carefully peeked around the signage again. “Look, I've got something to say. Something about this town.” The figure hadn’t moved from their spot, though their posture had changed. Even while still watching the stage, it was more...passive observation than being invested. Something about the last two kids, then? Aja and Krel? “Listen to me! Something dangerous is coming. Strange things happen in our town.”

_Hah! We’ve got that much in common, for sure._

“We all know it. Pets go missing, people go missing. There's something alien amongst us.” Oh, _that_ got their attention. They stiffened up straight, one (three-fingered?) hand curling around the shaft of their weapon. “But we bury our heads in the sand and ignore it.” Chat considered carefully, but if they made a move to attack, he figured he ought to be able to pin their weapon to the roof by extending his staff above it and wedging it down. Jim said to step in if they attacked _civilians_ , but Chat figures it would be appreciated if he did so for Claire, as well. It hadn’t been stated to him outright, but he was PRETTY sure they were dating. The figure didn’t move any more as Claire continued her speech, though, like they were waiting to see if she said anything more incriminating.

“But we can't do that tonight. Tonight, when night falls, you need to run! Huh-?” she cut off suddenly when her friends began to play behind her, repeating her warning like lyrics. “No! This is not part of the show. You all need to run-”

“Run! Run! Run!”

Still, she kept trying, “You need to hide. 

“Hide! Hide! Hide!”

“No!”

_Yeah, they’re really not getting the message. I guess it’s like Nomura said, it’s a nice idea, but people will get the idea soon enough-_

Another tremor, but instead of feeling like an actual earthquake, it felt like an _explosion._

“What in Gaylen’s name-?!” The surprise was unmistakable, as was their shock as they stared at the rising column of smoke, what he could only assume was the massive spell meant to snuff out the sun. So Chat made a decision, stepping out from behind the marquee. 

“That’s the signal of a war about to start,” he said, already prepared for the reflexive attack they made against him, blocking one end of the scythe with his staff. “So the question is,” he continued, taking in the face of his opponent carefully, “do you side with Gunmar?”

“My loyalty is _only_ to the Royal House of Tarron!” they (she? The voice sounded feminine, at least, but who was he to assume?) firmly declared, leaping back to disengage. “I do not know this ‘Gunmar’.”

Chat also stepped back, holding one hand up peaceably while still gripping his staff with the other. “Then unless you want to help us fight against Gunmar and his army, you may want to run now, like she was saying,” he tipped his head in the direction of the stage Claire had been speaking from. “Because this is about to become a battleground.”

The expression of shock and worry that Chat saw was surprisingly human, all things considered. Then, with barely the horrified words of, “My royals!” they leapt away. He wasn’t entirely certain what that was exactly about, but there was apparently more than trolls going on in Arcadia. Hopefully he would remember to pass on that little exchange when he got the chance.

“As if trolls weren’t enough,” he muttered, turning away from the direction they went in to step up to the edge of the roof.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chat Noir is gonna make Zadra’s already hazy understanding of people and animals that much more fuzzy, lol.  
> Also, I should have asked this much earlier, but how do you like the formatting I use for text conversations? I feel dumb asking NOW because this is pretty much the last of them, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask? If it's not quite clear, I can go back and try to work it out to be easier to read.


	24. For Glory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh, so THAT’S a Gumm-Gumm!

The rest of the way through the sewer tunnels ended up being tense and quiet, Aaarrrgghh not having a penchant for chatter, Merlin being completely disinterested in mindless conversation, and the attempts that Ladybug made to chatterbox her way out of the awkwardness, as she was wont to do, were met by monosyllabic answers from Aaarrrgghh and condescending remarks from Merlin. To be fair, Ladybug had known what to expect from the giant troll; Jim had remarked plenty of times on how generally quiet and agreeable he was. Also, the way he responded to her was in no way meant to dissuade her from talking. In fact, he had an indulgent sort of smile on his face, as though he were familiar with people talking out of nervousness. It made her wonder if maybe that's what Blinky would do, as well.

So they traveled with on and off awkward silences and chattering, having to weather a minor earthquake along the way, until they reached a large grate at the end of a sewer tunnel where Aaarrrgghh finally stopped them from moving forward. He approached surprisingly stealthily so he could peer out before retreating backwards again.

"Door to Trollmarket," he said, gesturing to one side of the grate, "right outside."

"And now we must wait for the Eternal Night to begin," Merlin said grimly. "Because until that happens, we would be walking into a nest of Gumm-Gumms."

"How will you know that it's happened?" Ladybug asked.

"Oh, even from inside here, it should be-"

Another shuttering and shaking of the earth interrupted what he was saying, causing Ladybug to brace herself against Aaarrrgghh's shoulder. But instead of calming down after a moment, there was what seemed like an enormous explosion that took place just outside the sewer grate. Some concrete debris got flung inside their hiding place, but mostly, the view beyond the grate had transformed into one of black and orange swirling smoke and light. After the initial explosion, the noise settled down into just a constant whirling of wind rushing around in a tight cyclone. 

"-fairly obvious," Merlin finished, entirely too smugly.

Through the vortex of smoke and noise, Ladybug could see dark, bulky figures crawling out of the hole in the ground caused by the rising column of smoke. 

It was her first look at a Gumm-Gumm.

***

Now perched on the edge of the theater roof, Chat Noir put the odd encounter with the glowing person out of his mind as he scanned the square, watching people flee in all directions, habitually looking to see if anyone needed help, when he finally caught his first glimpse of what  _ had _ to be a Gumm-Gumm. 

And, well, “general mindless cruelty and murderous demeanor” was  _ much  _ more obvious than he'd actually expected it to be. Eyeballing the distance, he backed up a few paces, then took a running leap off the roof. Midair, his tail allowed him to twist and adjust for his moving target, the staff extended, and-

_ CLANG! _

-the Gumm-Gumm was smashed into rubble while Chat executed a tuck and roll to come up to his feet a few meters away. He had to dodge and beat his way through a couple more of the black and green beasts (Rude. They were going to ruin his branding! Father would probably sue.) before joining his allies at the center of the square, including Nomura and who he had to assume was Strickler, having transformed into their troll selves. There was a breathless minute of fighting before Claire came close enough to his position to shout a question.

“I need you to tell me, did Mary flirt with you?”

_ FWOOSH _ A troll vanished into a portal and reappeared, screaming, a dozen meters in the air only to smash to the ground.

“Well, a girl came up and told me to pay attention to HER band,”  _ SMASH! _ “which I think was yours because I saw her on stage with you, so maybe? I didn’t get her name, though.” Chat made a running flip over her head to come down with a hammer kick on the enemy that had tried to come up behind her. 

Meanwhile, Claire slapped a palm to her face and groaned, “Ugh, I am SO sorry.”

“Why?” he had to ask.

“Because Mary can be a ridiculous flirt and when she said something about a cute blonde with a French accent, I just about  _ died _ from second-hand embarrassment.”

Chat couldn’t help but laugh even as he pulverized a Gumm-Gumm into broken pieces. “Don’t worry about it! She was very sweet! By the way! Does ‘the Royal House of Tarron’ mean anything to you?”

“Not really!”

“Maybe?” 

“No royalty I’ve ever heard of!” was Strickler’s reply.

“Well, keep it in mind, it may come up later,” Chat advised.

“Why?”

“That’s what the glowing person said they were loyal to, after not knowing anything about Gunmar.”

“Not the  _ time!” _ Nomura grunted as she executed a flip over the head of a Gumm-Gumm, hooking her khopesh blades into its armor and completing her flip by  _ yeeting _ the troll over her head and into another, causing both to burst into rubble. Meanwhile, Chat used his greater mobility in a combination of superhuman leaps and vaulting himself with his staff to rescue pockets of civilians on the fringes of the square from any Gumm-Gumms pinning them down while Claire, Toby, Strickler, and Nomura drew the trolls into the center. Through the melee, he could hear Claire’s cry of realization that they were being surrounded. 

With a final deafening crash of steel on stone, Chat directed the huddled civilians to take shelter indoors before vaulting himself into the center of the square. He speared one Gumm-Gumm on his descent before ducking into a roll to come to his feet with his back to Claire’s. “Better they concentrate on us than the rest of the city!” he replied. “That was the plan, right?”

“Right, but what’s taking Jim so long?” Claire demanded, equal parts worry and impatience in her voice. She did have a point there. The sunlight had been blocked for several minutes now, though how long would it take for Jim to make it from his house? “They won’t stop coming!” The mild panic in her voice wrenched Chat’s heart; for all that they’d been familiar with trolls and the situation, she’d never been in a situation like this, surrounded and outnumbered by their enemy. Chat on the other hand...well, brainwashing the masses to do their bidding was a supervillain standard in Paris.

Toby, for his part, trashed another Gumm-Gumm with a grunt and a mighty swing of his hammer, declaring loudly, “And we won’t stop takin’ ‘em down!” There was a sound like a warhorn, then rhythmic thudding, as they looked out to realize an unbroken wall of Gumm-Gumms had formed before them, pounding their spears on the ground in unison. Toby seemed to realize what that meant. “Oh my gosh, this is happening!” There was a shriek of metal and the  _ whoosh _ of something BIG moving through the air, and Chat saw hurtling through the air towards them- “Not another flying truck!” Toby cried in dismay.

_ ANOTHER flying truck?!I _ Chat couldn’t help but think incredulously, seeing Claire ready her staff for a portal just as-

_ “GYYYYYAAA!” _

“JIM!”

Flying forward to meet the truck mid-air, the Trollhunter leapt, sword burning with red magic like  _ fire, _ his mighty swing cleaving the truck in two, sending its parts crashing to either side of their group. 

“Okay,” Chat murmured in awe, staring at Jim’s back. “That is  _ definitely _ Top 5 of the coolest things I have ever seen…”

For all that Jim had just  _ sliced a flying freight truck in half, _ the Gumm-Gumms seemed unperturbed by the Trollhunter’s feat of strength, however, as rank after rank of them moved their spears from pounding the ground to levelling the points at them. Chat could hear the rustle of his allies taking deep breaths, adjusting grips on their weapons, everyone centering themselves for the next wave of battle. The odds weren’t the best, but Chat was ready to face them all the same. Ears swiveling backwards, though, he heard clacking, crunching, rumbling, a clatter on the bleachers, and just as he was turning his head to look, there was Blinky, pointing his hooked staff out over their heads, shouting in a mighty voice, “FOR GLORY!!” 

He was answered by a huge roar of voices and pounding feet, trolls of ALL shapes and sizes surging forward with their own battle cries. A larger one at the front of the charge grabbed hold of one truck half, spinning in place to fling it like a discus into the Gumm-Gumm ranks with a defiant roar. Around him, Chat could hear various trolls repeating Blinky’s war cry of “For glory!” including the Trollhunter himself. So, with a shrug, Chat threw himself into the fray, shouting,  _ “Pour la gloire!” _

It was wild and breathless and chaotic in a way Chat had never experienced before. The thunder-crack-rumble of splintering stone bodies on all sides, the murky light making recognizing friends from foes a hair-trigger decision, his night vision doing nothing against magical smog, as he ducked and wove and smashed his way through Gumm-Gumm hoards. One moment he lured a pack together to stumble into one of Claire’s portals. The next he was the anvil to Toby’s hammer. He dodged Strickler’s projectiles (who can apparently  _ fly?!) _ and played batter when Nomura flung trolls in his direction. Then there were a few times when he may or may not have defended Blinky when the troll’s back was turned.

And for the most exhilarating few seconds, Chat and Jim fought in tandem, sword and staff, darting between and backing up each other in a seamless dance Chat had thought was only possible with Ladybug. Maybe it wasn’t just his partnership and familiarity with her, then, but the instinct and experience of fated warriors with magic singing in their veins the wild song of glorious battle. They shared not a word of warning or heads up, they just worked together like a single unit for a few breathless moments before having to part ways in battle once more. And in between it all, Chat skipped and smashed and dodged and demolished, the ground becoming gritty with the gravel of troll corpses.

_ Don’t think too much about that, _ he firmly told himself. There wasn’t much time to think at ALL. It was a matter of easy practice to use his staff to loft himself into the air, pausing a moment at the crest of his vault to survey the square and its status of the fight. In that same moment, his ears twitched to overhear Jim speaking his same thoughts out loud with Blinky.

“I've got this area covered.” Chat leaned his weight to one side to control his descent towards where the Trollhunters were gathered. “The rest of the city is overrun.” Tuck, roll, come up standing. “Fan out and take down any threat, Trollhunters.”

Nomura and Strickler finished dispatching their foes before dragging Blinky with them. “Carry on without me, Master Jim!” he called.

“If anyone else else is in trouble out there,” Jim continued, “get them inside the school.”

“But of course I shall assist!” Chat saluted, though his hand wilted an instant later as he looked chagrined. “Only problem; where is the school?”

Jim pointed to the other teenagers, “Chat, go with Claire and Tobes; give them high ground coverage as they evacuate.”

With another salute, Chat turned to follow after the other two Trollhunters, vaulting to the roof of the nearest building to keep a lookout from above while they fetched some civilians that had apparently been hiding in the stage area. Hearing the voices of the girls that Claire and Toby were escorting made Chat glad he was following above across rooftops and not having to interact; he didn’t need Mary to make the connection to the “cute blonde with a French accent” she’d spoken to before the show and the hero helping out now. Claire had already done so inadvertently, so he just needed to keep his mouth shut around her friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am really struggling to write the Trollmarket expedition team sections. For as much as I love Ladybug and Aaarrrgghh (and DON'T love Merlin. I'm still annoyed at Wizards for making me weep for him) I just don't have as much inspiration for their mission as what's going on with Jim and Chat and everyone else on the surface. I mean, come on! The show doesn't even spend that much time in Trollmarket for this part!  
> So, I'm doing my best, and that means breaking them up into easier-to-write chunks to fit in with everything I've already GOT written. Please bear with me! I don’t want to slow updates down again, or miss one entirely, so hopefully my muse will find me!


	25. A Tragedy for Tomorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This almost didn't get put up in time, because I got my days mixed up and thought I was uploading SATURDAY instead of Friday, so forgive me if some of this seems rushed! I didn't want to break my streak!

It was a lot of looking over their shoulders as they did it, but Ladybug, Merlin, and Aaarrrgghh snuck out of the sewer (with liberal application of Aaarrrgghh’s brute strength to wrench the grate away) and underneath the bridge that was just nearby. It didn’t look like much to Ladybug, just a concrete wall, but while she and Merlin kept a lookout on the Swirling Vortex of Death and the Evil Trolls crawling out of it, Aaarrrgghh used a small orange crystal to draw a glowing archway on the concrete. Barely a breath later and it swirled away to reveal an opening that they all darted through, closing up behind them.

After that, they were led again by Aaarrrgghh onto a downward spiraling stair made up of humongous blue crystals. They glowed dimly, and Ladybug couldn't help but be charmed by the beauty of it. Coming out at the bottom she was greeted with a cavernous vista of more dimly lit crystal, rock, and what looked like dwellings and shops. The most eye-catching thing, though, was the pillar of brilliant orange light shooting up from a monolith of crystal in the center of it all. It was obviously the source of the Eternal Night spell.

“Is that the Heartstone?” she asked, “Where the spell is shooting up?”

“Indeed,” Merlin replied.

“Heartstone...dying…” Aaarrrgghh said with deep, terrible realization.

“And once it’s gone, sadly, so is Trollmarket,” the wizard said with depressing finality. “Alas, that is a tragedy for tomorrow, my friend, for today brings its own doom.”

“Not if I can help it,” Ladybug declared firmly. “Where are you expecting Morgana to be?”

“Inside the Heartstone,” Merlin replied promptly as they began to move through Trollmarket at a light jog. “She needs its power.”

A thought occurred to Ladybug, “Won’t me restoring the Heartstone just give her  _ more _ power from it being healthy again?”

But he shook his head. “No. If your Lucky Charm restoration is able to latch on like we hope, it will purify and sever the ties that she has made with its magical source, cutting her off.”

They continue to move through the market, occasionally having to dodge the falling debris from the cavern roof. The spell of the Eternal Night was causing untold amounts of damage, including the source of its own power. Ladybug couldn't help but wonder if this was how it was already affecting Trollmarket, how “eternal” it could possibly be.

They came to the end of a bridge when Aaarrrgghh stopped to look at Ladybug and tell her quietly, “Heartstone ahead. You hide now.”

She nodded in understanding and laid a firm hand on his broad shoulder and nodded at Merlin. “Good luck to the both of you,” she murmured. With that, she sent her yo-yo zipping out into the cavern, hooking onto a piece of architecture that still clung to a wall to lift her away and swing around behind the gigantic crystal belching forth it's noxious spell.

It took a few more swings before she was far enough around the giant crystal until she was no longer able to see the bridge that Merlin and Aaarrrgghh had continued forward on. She found a protected ledge that one of the Heartstone crystals was growing out of for her to land and shelter under its arms from the falling cavern debris without risk of also tumbling over the edge into a depth she had no interest in actually looking down at. Her time as superheroine may have made her much less respectful of gravity as she might have been before, but she remembered Jim's story about The Deep and didn't feel like testing it just yet.

Maybe it was a fit of nerves, but Ladybug allowed her transformation to drop while in the careful shelter just so she could have a moment to speak to her kwami. As soon as Tikki materialized out of her transformation, Marinette couldn't help but ask, having to shout over the rumbling noise, “Tikki, do you think this is going to work? Everybody keeps saying like it might not.”

“I'm sorry Marinette,” the little goddess said. “I just have no way of knowing. The magic of the Miraculous is completely different from what Morgana is doing here. You've always been able to fight against akuma and reverse the damage they do because it's the same kind of magic. They come from the same source. But Morgana and the Eternal Night? I don't really know enough about her source of magic to say. All we can do is try our best!”

Marinette couldn't help but gulp a bit even as she nodded. “Okay. Then we'll do our best! Tikki,  _ transformez-moi!” _

Back in spots again, Ladybug stood up from where she had been crouching and placed one hand on the sickly orange crystal sheltering her. In a moment of sentiment, she leaned her forehead on it, sending all of her thoughts and wishes and hopes of care and healing for it and the culture it represented before she took a step back in order to throw her yo-yo into the air, shouting, “Lucky Charm!”

The magic took and what fell down to her to catch in her hands was a red and black-spotted stethoscope. As always, she couldn't help but look at it quickly and say, “How is this supposed to help?” For once, she had a plan before she even held the Lucky Charm in her hands, all she really meant to do with it was its final purpose of reversing the magic, as opposed to using the object itself as a way to foil an akuma. She wondered if it was just symbolic, in that she was here to heal the Heartstone and a stethoscope is something that doctors use to heal people? Could it just be a gesture of her intent? Instinctually, she did what she always did and carefully looked around her environment, trying to connect the dots for how this was supposed to help. Nothing immediately sprang to mind, as all she was seeing were cavern walls and the troll dwellings that dotted them. That is, until she seemed to hear and  _ feel _ a shout reverberate through the Heartstone. Turning back to it, she realized with a start that she needed to know when Merlin had lured Morgana out from inside it before she could attempt to reverse the magic. If she couldn’t  _ see _ what was going on inside, though, maybe she could  _ hear. _

Placing the stethoscope nubs in her ears, she gingerly laid the pad of it against the warm crystal, ready to yank it away if it was unbearably loud. It was a pleasant surprise, then, that it DIDN’T attempt to burst her eardrums, instead she could hear the voices from within transmitted through the singing crystal.

“Your friends won't be able to resurrect you this time,” a menacing voice growled, some of the lower tones lost in the vibrations. Who was that? It certainly didn’t sound like the sorceress everyone had been talking about.

“Same for you.” Okay, that was Aaarrrgghh. Who was he talking to? About resurrection?

_ Is that Angor Rot? _

There was a shout, and cruel, feminine laughter. Before Ladybug even had to wonder whose it was, Merlin was saying, “Leave them alone, Morgana.”

_ Morgana confirmed in the Heartstone. Maybe-probably Angor Rot. _

“Surprise. Oh, have you missed me?”

A noise Ladybug couldn’t discern, like a blast?

“You old fool.” That cruel laugh again, then another concussive sound.

“My magic. You've-you've taken it?” 

_ What?! Merlin’s lost his magic? That wasn’t part of the plan! _

“All those centuries you locked me away, what did you think I was doing? Let me show you how strong I am now. I am stronger than you.”

“You won't win. The Trollhunter-”

“I've already won!”

Ladybug jerked the stethoscope away from the crystal at the sound of Merlin’s scream, anxiety rushing through her veins as she felt the sudden need to get in there and  _ help! _ She had even begun to swing and climb her way around the circumference of the Heartstone to get at its entrance and barely stopped in time as she saw a thin, pale troll stomp across the causeway. She barely managed to hide behind an outcropping of crystal in time to avoid being seen. Peering ever-so-carefully around the edge of her hiding place, she watched as he took off, darting through Trollmarket towards the exit. 

“If that was Angor Rot,” she murmured to herself, “why is he leaving Morgana alone? Is she really powerful enough to take on Merlin without help…?” She flinched when she heard another scream from inside, but the close call of her cover being blown was enough to remind her of the task she needed to do. And THAT meant...she had to wait. She had to wait and trust that Merlin and Aaarrrgghh would be able to draw Morgana away from the Heartstone, giving Ladybug the opening she needed.

***

Somewhere in the murky smoke above and behind him, Chat heard a sudden screech like a dinosaur and barely dodged the beating of enormous wings passing by. Even though he managed to keep from falling off the edge of the roof he was on, he was still flattened face-first by the buffeting wind with a grunt of pain.

_ “Stalkling!!” _ he heard Toby scream while scrambling back to his feet. Too late, he saw the flying thing (troll? A flying troll? Was that a thing? Was it still made out of  _ stone? _ And  _ flying?? _ But then, so was Strickler, and he still flew) snatch one of the girls up and angle back upwards. Chat was just planting his staff to raise him up above, but Toby beat him to the rescue, swinging his hammer with the shout of Darci’s name in rage like he was going to throw it upwards but  _ didn’t actually let go _ , hurling himself after the ascending pair. 

Could...could Toby fly? Is that what his hammer does? Chat hadn’t seen him do anything like that in the earlier fight, but it was very cool all the same.

“Chat!” Claire called and he immediately looked down to her. “Be ready to catch one of them if something goes wrong!” He nodded firmly then turned his attention back to the sky, his ears swiveling forward to catch as many clues from the noise as he could. There was a  _ lot _ of noise coming from above the cover of smog, Toby and Darci screaming each other’s names (and apparently they’re dating? Neat) and periodic screeching from the...what did he call it? Stalkling? When Darci’s voice suddenly sounded like she was  _ dropping _ , Chat crouched, scrubbing his silver-toed boots into the roof tar to check his footing, touched his fingertips in front of him for balance, feeling muscles and magic coiling into his legs in preparation to make an inhuman leap to the rescue. No one can prove, though, that he may have been wiggling on his haunches a bit.

Their falling forms seem to materialize through the smog, Darci followed closely by Toby, reaching for each other-

_ “Allonz,  _ Toby,  _ allonz…” _ Chat urged. He moved to a closer roof, calculated a better angle, ready to leap for them, but he was rooting for Toby,  _ wanting _ Toby to make it. Far be it from Chat to steal a daring rescue from a girl’s knight in  _ actual _ shining armor. They were reaching, stretching,  _ finally! “Bien!” _ Chat pumped a fist in victory as with a grab and a crazy spin in the air, they seemed to be yanked to a slow by the hammer. As they descended at a much safer speed, Chat couldn’t help but snicker to himself at the resemblance to Mary Poppins.

The safe rescue seemed to be short-lived, though, as a localized tremor shook everything, nearly knocking the teens off their feet as they fled a spot in the street that cracked,  _ bulged, _ broke open to make way for…

_ Something. _

Seeing a monstrous, horned, glowing worm erupt out of the pavement managed to shock some words out of Chat that would have gotten  _ someone _ fired for teaching him such language if his father heard. As it was, the thing’s teeth that were  _ longer than he was, TAIL INCLUDED, _ were on the same level as the roof he was standing on. So of course it couldn’t resist taking a snap at him while Toby cried something about the Darklands. Chat leaped into the air, dodging its attack and coming down sharply on its head in retaliation. He heard a tribal-like chanting when suddenly  _ spears _ were being flung past him. Ducking behind the bulk of the monster, Chat slid down its back until he could leap to the asphalt, running to one side to curve AWAY from the flying weapons and rejoin the rest of the team on the ground just in time to stare up in awe at the biggest troll- biggest  _ creature _ he’d ever seen besides the horned worm it was stomping towards. Had akuma they’d ever dealt with had been so large, even Stoneheart at his maximum?

“Boom boom, shake the room! My cousin!” one of the small green trolls crowed gleefully.

“Say whaaaaaaaat?” Toby seemed just as awestruck as Chat, so that was gratifying.

The cousin troll squared off and when the worm darted to attack, Chat was shocked at how  _ fast _ it was despite its size, but the cousin dodged, then tackled it into the side of a building.

“Hey, aren’t you-” Mary started to say, but flying debris caused everyone to duck, Chat batting one chunk of rubble to the side.

“We’ve gotta get off the street!” Claire urged, leading the way, though she did have to double back to grab Mary’s arm. Once they were far enough past the trolls as big as  _ buildings, _ Chat launched himself back onto a roof. Arcadia’s skyline wasn’t QUITE as tall as Paris’, so it wasn’t as hard to get himself up to that level. The school wasn’t far, though, so he took a moment to breathe and briefly check his baton for Paris news as he made sure the two girls took a dive for cover in the school whilst their teachers (? Maybe? Apparently) proceeded to mow down any Gumm-Gumms that tried to approach. Good news on both fronts; no news of akuma and the civilian escape covered. Then, Chat’s ears twitched, catching a familiar sound; a warhorn, followed by a rhythmic pounding. Gumm-Gumms gathered up and rallied for battle once more! But where? The sound was echoing, almost diffused by the murky orange atmosphere underneath Morgana’s spell. Since the first time the armies had clashed, the dark trolls had been in smaller pockets, where would there be a gathering like-

With a sharp gasp, Chat changed the screen on his baton, searching for the location of his trackers. Claire’s was just below, before blinking to a new location as she portaled. Jim’s though…

Without another thought, Chat took a running leap back towards the square, this time using his staff to launch him at much greater speeds to cover the same ground faster (while also dodging around the wrestling match of giants still going on and keeping an eye on the airspace for any more Stalklings). He could see Gumm-Gumms lining a small patch of rooftops, but he didn't want to waste time playing pinball with the peons. One last launch of his staff to reach an altitude PLENTY high over the watching troll heads, Chat aimed himself like an unlucky missile about to cross paths with the giant figure bearing down on the Trollhunter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up with Lucky Charms is HARD, okay? They’re the most RANDOM objects and they never get used in an obvious way! I still feel like I cheated with this one, but it served a double-purpose of being symbolic AND useful! Haha!  
> So, I want to make it clear; I in NO WAY think that Jim facing Gunmar and Angor Rot solo is anything less than REALLY FREAKING COOL. I love that boy, he’s outstanding, showstopper, 10/10, The Best. HOWEVER! I also dearly wanted Chat to not only be more involved (as Ladybug had been in the deep of Jim’s troll problems for a long while now, I felt like Chat could do with being on more even footing than just a helpful tag-along because SHE was invested) and demonstrate he’s just as much of a force to be reckoned with as Ladybug, but I also wanted to develop a camaraderie between the two boys because, well, they deserve to be friends, okay? Also, I love Chat. I love Ladybug, too! But I think Chat is just a doll. Y’all should see my Tumblr post (https://lunararcher.tumblr.com/post/641059725366165504/still-havent-finished-painting-that-poor) about the D&D character I made based on him. Pretty proud of how that turned out, actually...  
> Also, I think I mentioned it before, but if I misuse what little French I’m trying to add in, feel free to correct me! Google translate is a lovely tool, but...well...we all know how that can go.


	26. Lucky Charm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s time to de-evilize! 
> 
> (omg, I can’t believe I actually USED that line, I hate the English translation of that phrase so much…what is so wrong with saying “purify”?)

Ladybug didn’t need the stethoscope anymore to hear Merlin scream.

If her palms weren’t covered in impenetrable armor, her nails might’ve cut in with how tightly she was squeezing her fists.

_ They need to come out, _ she reminded herself, almost like a chant.  _ They need to draw her out. _

_ I can’t let her have a chance at the Miraculous. _

Her thoughts had been going in circles, ever since she’d seen Angor Rot leave. Telling herself to stick to the plan, to pay heed to the concerns of everyone who knew the situation, who knew their  _ enemy _ so much better than she did. She didn’t have the home field advantage here and it wasn’t HER home under threat if she failed. At least, not unless Gunmar managed to cross the Atlantic to march on Europe. But even so…

_ She’d have to catch me first. _

***

“I told you, I would kill you myself,” Gunmar growled with deep satisfaction as he stomped into the ring created by his circle of minions. He stopped before Jim, staring down at the armor-clad figure who was no longer quite a fleshbag. “You let the old wizard work his magic on you, I see.”

Jim bared his teeth in a way that might have been a grin, but mostly it was a threat. “Scared it’s gonna be a fair fight?”

Gunmar’s cruel, rumbling laugh echoed off the buildings around them, “It’s not going to be as fair as you think!”

There was shifting behind him as Jim took a step back to keep an eye on Gunmar but also to see what was happening on the other end of the street. The Gumm-Gumms that choked the crosswalk, as well as some crystal and glass golems (when had they gotten there?) parted to allow a tall, pale figure to walk through, hissing his own foreboding laugh. Even knowing he was back, Jim was NOT pleased to see the assassin’s face again and growled at the sight.

“You aren’t strong enough to take on the  _ both  _ of us, Hunter,” Angor Rot declared. 

Jim nearly called them out on their foolishness to leave Morgana unprotected, but perhaps if he hadn’t been standing so close to Gunmar, refusing to back down, hadn’t been craning his head quite so far up to meet the one burning eye of the warlord, he wouldn’t have seen the figure dropping from behind and above. As it was, though, he WAS doing those things and DID see the incoming attack, so he was privileged to have a front-row seat to watch Chat Noir hurtle steel-toed feet-first into the back of Gunmar’s skull. The troll slammed forward with a startled shout and formed a shallow crater in the road with his face even as the superhero flipped nimbly off his matted mane like the cruelest Gumm-Gumm in history was no more than a springboard for gymnastics.

Obviously Gunmar didn’t stay down for long, wrenching upwards out of the asphalt with a furious roar, but it didn’t  _ quite _ cover up the startled chuckle Angor Rot made from behind. 

“Oh wow, he’s  _ way _ more fur-midable than all the other ones!” Chat exclaimed in surprise, skipping his way to stand at the side of the Trollhunter.

“Yep.” Jim agreed grimly. “Chat Noir, meet Gunmar the Black-” he gestured to the infuriated hulking beast “-and Angor Rot,” the next gesture to the grinning assassin. 

Chat’s expression was one of recognition, having heard both names several times now. “Ohhhhhh! This is the BOSS battle!”

“Yep.”

“...am I interrupting?”

Jim was surprised at both Chat’s consideration to ask, and also his own impulse to say  _ yes. _

_ Gunmar and Angor Rot are MY fight. _

***

With the earpieces of the Lucky Charm hooked around her neck so she could have her hands free, Ladybug hooked her yo-yo around a small outcropping of crystal just above the entrance to the inner workings of the Heartstone itself. She had heard the on and off noises of shouts and screams and general impact, Morgana seeming to play with Merlin the way a cat toys with a mouse. Occasionally there were words spoken besides just screams of pain or rage, but they were becoming increasingly few and far between. Taking a deep breath or two, Ladybug prepared herself, set her feet against her perch, and then with the powerful shove, forced herself outward into the open air away from the Heartstone, letting the momentum swing her back around in a way that should be able to swing right into and through the entrance into the inner sanctum. 

Just as she was reaching the arc of her swing and began to come back around, speeding toward the giant crystal, she saw and heard something alarming. There was a brief flash of movement and the roar of Aaarrrgghh's rage. With a frantic last instant adjustment, Ladybug yanked on her yo-yo and willed it to shorten its tether, the magic catching and instead of allowing her to swing down the length of it into the entrance, it zipped her tightly back up to the crystal where it was anchored. Once there, she had to cling to the pillar of the smaller crystal outcropping like a starfish just as Aaarrrgghh hurdled past underneath her, having tackled Morgana to take her with him.

Looking over her shoulder, Ladybug could see Morgana emit a burst of golden magic to fling Aaarrrgghh off of her, which then created an opening to allow Gumm-Gumms to beset him in greater numbers. Morgana began to turn back to the Heartstone, having apparently been torn away from her prey, Ladybug’s own heart leaping into her throat as she realized how stupidly  _ exposed _ she was, clinging to the dull orange crystal like a bright red koala. And if she tried to  _ hide, _ the movement would surely draw the sorceress’s gaze.

Before Morgana had even gotten a quarter of the way turned around, though, an emerald green blast struck her out of the air. Merlin had come out of the Heartstone, wielding a long dark staff with a shining gem at the top. That definitely grabbed Morgana's attention, but Ladybug had to wait until their conflict drew the direction of her gaze away from the Heartstone itself. The instant that happened, Ladybug gave herself some slack on the yo-yo to repel down the crystal and then swing through the opening. She quickly dodged to the side so she wouldn't be seen through the great metal entrance as she ran deeper. Finally, she came to the very base of the Eternal Night, a smaller, tighter vortex of the orange and black smoke and light they'd seen on the surface. She didn't know if it was the fact that she was literally covered in magic or not, but being this close to such a powerful spell gave her really unpleasant tingles. The kind you get when watching a horror movie and you knew the murderer was in the house with you.

“This is it,” she murmured to herself. She could hear the shouts of conflict from outside in the market itself, so knowing that she didn't have time to dawdle, Ladybug took the Lucky Charm stethoscope from around her neck and clutched it tightly in both hands. “Oh god, I hope this works…”

She didn't let herself waste any more time, though, throwing the token of Tikki's creation into the air and pushing all of her will into shouting, “MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!”

The burst of Creation magic, of everything that Tikki represented, swarmed around her as it always did, replacing the gross tingling sensation with something much more kind and familiar. The tiny specks of red and white light that swarmed like ladybugs sped toward the vortex and for a moment she was terrified that the Eternal Night was simply going to suck up and use her magic to make it even stronger. That red and white light merged with the orange and black, but then something happened that never had before, she could feel a pull on her own... _ self _ . 

The way her incantation had merged with the Eternal Night wasn't Morgana's sickly magic trying to suck in her own, no. The power of the Lucky Charm was attacking the Eternal Night, trying to tear it apart from the inside, trying to dissipate the tornado of magic the way a powerful opposing wind might unravel a cyclone.

Morgana wasn't going to just passively allow it, though.

When the Lucky Charm pushed into the Eternal Night, Ladybug had felt the optimistic sensation of the power of good luck and creation dismantling the darkness, until the mother of that darkness took notice and suddenly Ladybug could  _ feel  _ the sorceress’ will bearing down on her, contesting what she was trying to do. And with a frisson of fear, Ladybug realized that it  _ wasn’t _ much of a contest, not against Morgana.

Papillon was a driven, passionate man, yes, and the few times they’d had a battle of wills, it was easy to taste his convictions, but also the same mortality SHE shared. With Morgana, on the other hand, it had been a LONG time since she was mortal, and she didn’t fight with anything so paltry as simple  _ convictions. _ This was a woman who knew an absolute TRUTH of what she was doing, and swaying her from it was as futile as...well, telling her the sun could not be blotted out.

Ladybug, for all her fierce determination, unending positivity, and creative thinking, stood against the tide of Morgana’s Truth, but could not stop it. Because it  _ was _ like a force of nature, more than any akuma had ever imitated, and her Lucky Charm could not hold back the rise of that ocean.

Ladybug hadn't even realized that she had lifted her arms, her muscles straining as she held her hands out towards the vortex of the Eternal Night. She didn't realize her hands were held out until she felt that connection  _ snap _ and the sparkle of red and white lights swirling in the opposite direction blasted outwards and dissipated, the Eternal Night undamaged.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" a sickly-sweet voice hissed in a way that seemed both inside and outside of Ladybug's head. "The Heartstone seems to have developed an infestation of  _ insects!" _

The superhero dodged the blasting attack with nothing but screaming instincts, whirling around to see the floating figure of Morgana, clad in golden armor like a mockery of a knight in shining armor, wrapped around a poisoned soul. Ladybug realized with a fleeting thought of how very opposite it was to Jim, with his beastly appearance and his menacing black and red armor, and still every inch the noble hero that any fairy tale could hope to speak of.

“Seems to me like it’s not an infestation so much as one big  _ parasite!” _ Ladybug retorted, hurling her yo-yo to wrap around Morgana and preparing to hurl her to the ground. She was very much familiar with villains that liked to hover and fly and generally lord over everyone how much they enjoyed looking down upon their victims. Ladybug found it very satisfying, then, to give them a thorough reintroduction to the concept of gravity. 

Morgana shouted in angry surprise when she was suddenly jerked forward, Ladybug counterbalancing against Morgana’s reflexive resistance to slingshot herself forward and even slide  _ underneath _ the sorceress, placing herself closer to the exit, while also giving one final  _ yank _ of the yo-yo to slam Morgana to the ground. 

Ladybug quickly retracted her yo-yo, shouting behind her, “You’re out of practice,  _ grand-mère!” _ even as she raced to get to the exit, leaping and dodging the blasts Morgana sent after her with shrieks of rage.

She’d made it halfway across the causeway when she felt the sudden need to  _ leap _ to one side, dodging Morgana's golden missiles with literal good luck. She kept up her erratic movements, leaping, dodging, and using her yo-yo to swing about in the air. Occasionally she would stop and face the sorceress in order to swing her yo-yo into a shield. Thankfully, the magical barrier was just as impenetrable against the Pale Lady as it was against akumas and vehicles.

“You must be another ally the old fool Merlin has conned into joining his futile resistance!” she shouted to Ladybug, even while keeping up her barrage of magical attacks. Occasionally, she would attempt to entangle the girl instead of shooting her, but Ladybug was entirely too nimble to fall for something that resembled her own attacks so well. “But what power is it you hold that makes you think you could best my spell?”

_ She’s trying to figure me out. This is bad. Everyone WARNED me about this! I need to get away! _

Where were Merlin and Aaarrrgghh? She didn't have a lot of opportunities to look around her, what with the furious barrage she was dealing with, but Aaarrrgghh was a pretty hard figure to miss and Merlin ought to be attacking Morgana just as furiously. Gumm-Gumms occasionally tried to come at her, but their huge, lumbering movements made them easy to dodge, not to mention how easily they burst into rubble under the indiscriminate fire of the woman who was supposed to be on THEIR side.

A loud, resonant sound, like a warhorn, suddenly echoed out into the massive cavern, causing a brief pause as Ladybug heard the rhythmic thudding sound of a _huge_ creature coming closer, only to discover it was Aaarrrgghh returning from wherever he had gone, accompanied by a number of glowing blue orbs. They quickly began to dart towards the Gumm-Gumms, transforming their sickly green energy into vibrant red. One of the orbs briefly formed into a figure, a glowing troll clad in armor.

“For the glory of Merlin,” he shouted, lifting his sword-  _ Jim’s _ sword! -into the air, “once more into the fight!” He then dove into another Gumm-Gumm to immediately begin attacking Morgana.

“It can’t be!” she shrieked in disbelief, having to blast more than one of the possessed trolls away from her.

Whoever they were (she made a mental note to ask Jim about it later, because she  _ knew _ that one had proudly displayed the Trollhunter’s weapon) she had no problem taking advantage of their distracting Morgana. She ducked and dodged her way through the market, hiding behind stalls to keep out of enemy sight as she tried to get away. At one point, though, the stall she was aiming for burst under an explosion, blasting her backwards until she was sprawling. 

“Let’s take a look at your pretty jewelry, little  _ bug,” _ Morgana hissed, bearing down on Ladybug. There was a tiny  _ beep _ from her earrings and she realized with a panic that she hadn’t heard any others in the noise, so she had no idea how much TIME she had left. If she detransformed  _ now _ , the Gumm-Gumms would eat her alive! What’s more, now Morgana seemed to have figured out  the Miraculous! 

A dark figure hurled themselves into her vision, causing her to brace for an attack, only to realize it was one of the red Gumm-Gumms attacking Morgana, throwing a spear with deadly accuracy at her. It was still blasted to the side, but not before that same possessed troll hunkered down to take a huge slab of stone and use it as a shield for himself and Ladybug. 

“Go!” he shouted to her, his voice that of the one who had led the charge. “Get to the surface! Protect our Trollhunter!”

Ladybug did NOT need to be told twice. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I just say? I’m REALLY proud of that “didn’t need the stethoscope to hear Merlin scream” line. Like, it’s not like it’s super complicated, but DAMN if it didn’t make me feel something visceral.  
> I also want to express that I didn't want it to seem like I am less respectful of Ladybug's abilities, in that she wasn't able to beat Morgana the same way that Claire was able to. The problem is, the situations were pretty much exactly opposite. Morgana, who wasn't even fully awake and with her full power, was intruding on Claire's territory and trying to take something that didn't belong to her. Ladybug, on the other hand, had marched in and tried to take over the spell that Morgana had already cast in her fully realized power. Ladybug did not have the same home field advantage that Claire did. So don't @ me.  
> Also, that gravity quip? May or may not be a jab at something Morgana says in Wizards, which is pretty much the DUMBEST thing anyone (who isn’t Steve) says in the entire series.  
> Also, anybody notice that I actually updated the chapter count? I am PRETTY sure I won’t have to change it later; things are pretty well mapped out. The only thing that may change it is if the boys decide to have a MUCH bigger fight than my current chapter sizes account for. So it’ll either be broken into two parts, or y’all are just gonna get an extra-long chapter. If you want something bigger, though, I may have to miss an update day in order to finish the thing.  
> Let me know what you’d like to see!


	27. Cataclysm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doesn't Gunmar know it's bad luck to cross a black cat?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...hello…! I’m back! Sorry I missed my regular update windows. It was a perfect storm of being a difficult chapter to write (because of all the action) and playing Animal Crossing New Horizons for the first time (got a Switch Lite for my birthday!) meant I was looking to procrastinate and BOY was ACNH a great distraction to procrastinate with! I’m so sorry. I’m glad we’re almost to the end here, because otherwise the silly game might throw us off the rails entirely!

_ Gunmar and Angor Rot are MY fight. _

It was one thing when Merlin was trying to drag Jim away to fight the wizard's own personal feud with Morgana instead of against the warlord and assassin that were doing all in their power to destroy everything Jim loved. He would deal with Morgana after them. But not before.

When Chat arrived to offer his help, though, Jim had hesitated. This was HIS fight. HIS destiny.

But...Chat didn't change that. Having an ally at his side did not change the way that Jim could feel destiny flowing and circling their battleground. Chat Noir was not there to steal a victory away from the Trollhunter. Him being there could only make Gunmar's defeat that much more absolute.

"Feel free to rough them up," Jim instructed with a grim smile. "But I get to finish Gunmar."

"Understood!" Chat agreed readily. 

The Gumm-Gumm Lord chuckled darkly upon hearing their exchange. “You speak like whelps playing at battle you know nothing of.”

"This  _ whelp  _ knows enough about battle to faceplant you in the dirt!" Chat jeered easily, an old hand at riling up his opponents.

Angor Rot, to his credit, was peering intently at his new opponent, assessing in ways that Gunmar would never bother to do, so sure as he was in his own superiority. Angor could sense it was old and powerful magic cloaking the small figure in the strange and flimsy-looking armor, so he knew to proceed with caution. Unfortunately, he had no way of learning about his prey as he had already done with the Trollhunter months before.

"Angor's knife is coated in poison that will turn you to stone if he cuts you," Jim was tersely informing his battle partner. He didn't bother to keep a low voice, as he knew that both of their opponents would be able to hear him anyway. "And Gunmar's sword can take over your will if he's given the chance to concentrate on you."

"You know," Chat's voice came out more brittle with anger than it had been before, "I don't much care for those kinds of mind games."

At which point Gunmar finally got tired of the pregame snark and charged forward with a roar. Jim automatically held up his sword, ready to meet him while Chat turned so his back covered Jim's and met Angor Rot, staff braced in both hands. Of all the trolls Chat had seen that day (and wasn’t THAT just a thought in itself) Angor Rot was of the slimmer sort, though not quite as spindly as Nomura was. Even so, that, and the fact that his weapon of choice was a relatively small dagger, didn’t mean he couldn’t put a  _ lot _ of weight and power behind his first strike. Chat blocked the strike, though, hooking his staff just at the hilt to keep it from descending further, which only seemed to make Angor grin wickedly.

“Not bad!” he growled in approval, breaking the lock to retreat a few steps, assessing his opponent. “And just who might you be, to stand so foolishly with the Trollhunter?”

Chat grinned in turn, though his could never be  _ quite _ as menacing as a creature with  _ actual _ fangs, and answered breezily, “Oh, I’m just a fur-end from out of town. Jim thought I might enjoy the purr-ty some friends of his were throwing.”

There may have been the slightest hint of confusion on Angor’s face. Or, if nothing else, he didn’t seem to have a reaction one way or the other to the comment. He covered the moment quickly by lunging to attack again, swinging and stabbing with the poison-green dagger, then kicking out with legs built like a tree trunk. Chat, nimble thing that he was, dodged and blocked it all, being especially mindful of not letting the dagger cut him. His magically armored suit may have proven impenetrable over and over again, but it had never been tested against petrification, so he did his best to play it safe. THEN when the troll started aiming for his face more and more often, trying to hit the only patch of uncovered skin on his body, Chat decided enough was enough and went on the offensive.

Aiming to disarm Angor Rot of his poisoned dagger felt a lot like trying to get an akuma’s possessed object away from them, so he was able to fall back on familiar maneuvers. The look in his opponent’s eyes, though, that was somewhat new.

Angor Rot was frighteningly  _ intelligent _ , he lacked that manic haze akuma victims always had that suspended their own reality, and he was sizing up Chat Noir like a wolf.

“You are a curious creature, aren’t you?”  _ Duck. Roll. KICK! _ That earned a satisfying grunt of pain.

“Well, they do say that curiosity killed the cat!”  _ Dodge. Block. Swing-HIT! _ “And satisfaction brought it back!” Though Angor had blocked the hit with his arm, Chat could see bits of stone crumbling away. Chat wasn’t sure what made Gunmar and Angor Rot so much tougher than all the other trolls he had fought that day, because that same attack would have shattered the other Gumm-Gumms into stony bits.

“Like no human or hunter I’ve ever seen,” Angor said with a grin like a snarl.

“What can I say? I’m a one-of-a-kind feline!” For his part, Chat was happy to dodge around the subject (figuratively AND literally) as long as it kept Angor Rot distracted and occupied. He was waiting for the signal to make his own move. “And you’re not like any of the other trolls I’ve seen, either! You don’t look like a Gumm-Gumm.”

THAT made Angor  _ snarl, _ his sadistic grin vanishing. His attacks became a little more wild, blows harder.

_ Whoop, struck a nerve! _

“I am no Gumm-Gumm because I do not pledge my loyalty to Gunmar!”  _ Yikes! _ That dagger only JUST missed Chat’s (fake) ear. Will his next stylist find bits of petrified hair…?

“What’s your problem with Jim, then?” Chat broke his staff into batons to keep the dagger occupied in one hand and sharply jab the other end-first into Angor’s stomach. It barely winded him.

“He destroyed my soul!”

Chat had a less-than-proud moment where he actually stumbled hearing that, giving Angor an opening to kick him solidly across the chest, sending him crashing through a storefront. He managed to clamber to his feet and back out the shattered glass before Angor could stab him lying down. 

“He did  _ what _ now?” Chat couldn’t help but want to genuinely know. Soul-destruction really didn’t seem to fit what he knew of Jim Lake. “You don’t have a  _ soul?” _

For some reason, that seemed to make the troll hesitate, but Chat wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth and miss the opening it presented. He slammed his staff end-first into the shattered pavement and used it as an anchor to throw himself into a swinging kick, hitting Angor’s head hard enough to send him flying down the road.

Even as he stood up, though, the troll didn’t seem like he was going to answer Chat’s questions. His face, which had been calculating and viciously gleeful up to that point, looked weirdly conflicted and confused. Their banter had triggered something, Chat could tell, but he had no way of knowing what. 

And when he saw familiar red and white sparkles amidst the swirling orange and black tower of the Eternal Night, he knew he didn’t have any more time to find out. 

“JIM! SWITCH WITH ME!”

***

It should have been frightening, facing Gunmar against his bid to take over the surface. Gunmar the Black, the most evil troll to ever rise, born from a Heartstone tainted by blood and hate. The Gumm-Gumm Underlord, whose stony flesh glowed with cracks like magma, should have been terrifying.

But frankly, Jim was too damn pissed off to care.

_ Punch. Kick. Swing. BLOCK! _

He moved around and darted in and out of Gunmar’s reach, moving with reflexes hard-earned in the Forge as a human, but made smoother and stronger in his new skin. 

_ Duck. Slide. SLASH! Dodge. _

He blocked straight-on attacks from Gunmar and stood his ground where he once would have had to parry against Bular or risk being smashed to paste, armor or no. 

_ LEAP! Swing. Flip! _

He used buildings to ricochet and dodge while Gunmar stood his ground, immovable as a boulder-

... _ those horns look like really convenient handles… _

-but Jim was  _ strong _ now, stronger than ever, and a pissy has-been of a warlord made for a tempting catapult impression.

_ Goad. Feint. Grab. YEET! _

It was  _ massively _ satisfying to launch Gunmar down the street, sending him like a wrecking ball through a second-story wall. Distantly he registered Blinky cheering for him. When Jim saw Gunmar furiously throw rubble and debris off of him, he couldn’t help the taunt that came.

“Not as easy as last time, is it?”

Even as he spoke the words, though, something in the light changed, the oppressive orange smog seemed to warm and lighten for a moment before returning to the way it was before. Jim didn’t know what had happened, but didn’t have time to ponder it as two things happened at once. 

Gunmar  _ launched _ himself into a bullrush at Jim even as he heard Chat Noir shout his name. 

“JIM! SWITCH WITH ME!”

Before he even had a chance to  _ register _ what Chat meant, he saw a horizontal streak of silver seem to materialize before Gunmar’s charging form, braced between two street lights strong enough to bring him to a crashing halt. Chat wasted no time to start harrying the Gumm-Gumm, so Jim turned instead just in time to take Angor’s kick to the face. He recovered quickly, though, leaping up over the assassin’s follow-up attack, calling Daylight to hand and changing tactics for the smaller, more maneuverable enemy. 

“You made some improvements, I see,” Angor grinned with a weirdly satisfied approval. “Stronger! Faster! Part troll!” 

Jim could hear the voices of Gunmar and Chat behind him, but he was entirely too distracted to make out what they were saying.

_ Don’t go overboard, Chat, _ he mentally begged before he had to focus on his own fight again.

***

_ Merde, he doesn't have his sword, where is his sword?! _

Meanwhile, Chat was panicking slightly. The whole POINT to switching opponents after Ladybug cast her Miraculous spell was so he would have a shot at destroying Gunmar’s mind-control sword without risking the damage being undone. Well, Jim may not have known that specifically, but he didn’t argue with the trade, in any case.

Gunmar wasn’t pleased, though.

“Who do you think you are-” Chat dodged as he  _ slashed _ with a meaty claw, “-you PUNY human-” looking to tear him apart for his insolence. “-to interrupt where you have no place?!”

“Jim gave me purr-mission, so it’s fine! But, don't worry, I’m not going to steal his victory away!”  _ Clang! _ His staff bounced off Gunmar’s hide,  _ embarrassingly _ harmlessly, what is he  _ actually _ made of??

“You have no PLACE here, fleshbag!” Gunmar threw another swing but Chat kept out of his reach. The superhero just kept doing that, dancing and dodging just out of reach, trying to tempt the troll into using his sword.

“Hey! I was  _ invited! _ ” Kick to his back, bouncing off before Gunmar could turn around, his leather tail JUST slipping between glowing claws. “You don’t get to tell me I’m not welcome here!”

_ What do I have to SAY to make him mad enough to use it? I guess he doesn’t think I’m worth the trouble. _

Still darting about to be as irritating as possible, Chat did one of his favorite things and let the trash talk flow, politeness be damned. “It seems to me like you're just an out-of-date bully making one last attempt at glory. Didn't you have to get the help of some lady to do all this in the first place, anyway? Oh, but I guess you’re sensitive to a little sunshine.”

The furious roar he got in response said THAT did the trick! Streaks and sparks of orange light spiraled around Gunmar’s right arm down to his hand before materializing into the  _ wickedly _ barbed and ragged blade. Even as Gunmar charged with terrifying speed and ferocity, even as Chat had to dodge the surely devastating first blow, the smugly satisfied thought flashed through his mind:

_ My turn now, bitch. _

It DID take all his speed and maneuvering to get to where he needed, but after a breathless moment of launching off building walls, Chat leapt onto Gunmar’s shoulders to cling to his matted mane of hair with his left hand, lifting the other with a shout of, “CATACLYSM!” 

One clawed hand was reaching behind his head to grab at the boy but Chat was already moving, kicking off Gunmar’s shoulders to flip forward between Gunmar’s horns, still grasping that handful of filthy hair to use as an anchor for when his boots met collarbone, then all at once he  _ reached _ for the sword with one hand, let go of the hair with the other and pushed off with his legs to let him firmly grab the top of the evil blade for half a second before his momentum carried him all the way forward and out of Gunmar’s reach.

Chat Noir had some control over the how and where and speed of the destruction caused by his hand, depending on the situation, but in that moment, Chat wanted nothing more than for that damned sword to be  _ gone _ . And so, with a frisson of his acid green energy against the molten orange of Gunmar’s will, the Decimaar Blade crumbled away into nothing but black sand in a matter of seconds.

“No…” Gunmar stared at his empty hand in shock, the last grains of black sand trickling from it. “Impossible…”

Chat was wary, watching, waiting for the inevitable explosion of-

_ “What have you DONE?!” _

-fury.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am _ashamed_ that I had to go back into last chapter and fix Ladybug’s second incantation. I wrote her saying “Lucky Charm” twice when the second one was supposed to be “Miraculous Ladybug!” I am ashamed. I know it’s been a WHILE since I actually watched the show, but good GRIEF!  
> Also, I did have to update the chapter count. It was kind of tentative when I set it at 28 chapters anyway, because I wasn't sure how much attention the boys were going to insist on having. Turns out Gunmar needs an ENTIRE extra chapter to be extra angry at Chat, lol.


	28. Out of Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CW: Um...Gunmar gets pretty descriptive of the violent things he would like to do to a certain Good Boi. I tried to strike a balance between the kind of things Bular used to say to Jim and not quite “good lord, what is this, Game of Thrones?” So I apologize if his threats are more graphic than you’re comfortable with.

Gunmar apparently didn't seem to think the phrase "I'm going to kill you" put a fine enough point on the kind of pain he actually wanted to induce. Chat was quickly discovering that for all his brutish anger and hate, Gunmar apparently had the soul of a poet and when properly enraged, had no problems expressing his violent desires as eloquently as he was capable.

"I will rip out your  _ spine  _ and wear it for my  _ CROWN!" _

"What's that on your head already, though?" Chat reflected he was probably incapable of keeping his mouth shut. "I thought you were going for a viking helmet look! Or are those actually your eyebrows?"

"These  _ horns _ will be used to gore your intestines from your living body to hang from the trees for the crows to feast upon!"

"Oof. Going a bit Prometheus there, huh?"

"We shall find out if your flesh tastes like human or cat!"

"Uh, nope! No thanks! That's not a question I need answered!" 

For all his snark and quick banter, Chat was having to do everything in his power to keep out of Gunmar's murderous grip, much less making any attempts to get away before his transformation dropped. The troll was well and truly enraged and was not going to be satisfied with anything less than every single threat he was shouting. He wanted Chat's blood and nothing would stop him from coming for it. Chat might have tried to "rough him up" a bit more, as Jim had suggested, but at the moment he was mostly trying to keep from being, well, eaten.

***

Angor had one hand on his throat and his dagger pushing hard against Jim’s shield. Again, Jim was suddenly too pissed off to be scared.

“Kill me!” he challenged. “It won’t change you.” He ignored Angor’s ugly laugh and pushed back against the pressure on his shield. “I heard you were once a great warrior! A hero to trollkind!” And ohhhh, THAT got a reaction! That savage grin fell into a grimace at the reminder, his one eye darting as he looked beyond the Trollhunter. “What’s your  _ excuse  _ now that you have your soul back?” 

The sudden despair and confusion caused him to relax his pressure, leaning back and giving Jim the opening to draw his legs up under Angor’s chest and kick him yards away. Jim immediately got to his feet, ready to follow up, but Angor seemed genuinely conflicted by Jim’s words and didn’t try attacking again. He might have tried to press the advantage when Gunmar let out a  _ roar _ of fury worse than anything he’d heard yet.

THAT’S when the fear finally manifested as Jim spun and began to sprint toward the noise. Fear for Chat, not knowing what had made Gunmar  _ so _ infuriated that he continued to bellow the vilest of promises in retribution, all in trollish, as he’d seemed to have completely lost his grip on English in his utter  _ rage. _

He found them in a street off the square, Chat’s evasion having drawn Gunmar farther from where they’d first engaged in battle together. Gunmar was swinging his bare claws after Chat, promising all  _ sorts _ of brutal punishments that Jim didn’t even fully understand, but got enough out of the context to be genuinely afraid for Chat for whatever he did to set off the warlord. Jim saw the opening when Gunmar was distracted by Chat and charged forward, shoulder-checking Gunmar halfway across the square and crashing into the stage.

_ “Merci!” _ Chat called with just a hint of breathlessness to his voice.

“What on EARTH got him so angry?!” Jim couldn’t help but demand.

Chat just shrugged nonchalantly, but there was a definite tightness around his expression that betrayed his worry. “Turns out that fancy sword of his couldn’t stand up to a bit of bad luck.”

“A bit of-'' Jim frowned, then his eyebrows leapt up in realization. “Wait...did y- you used  _ Cataclysm _ on it?!”

“Like I said,” the superhero responded with a grimly satisfied look. “I have a problem with mind control.”

No more words could be spoken as Gunmar  _ ripped _ out of the stage, charging again as the carved lines on his body  _ burned _ with his fury. Jim braced his sword in front of him, but Gunmar came like a freight train. The Trollhunter was strong, sure, but DAMN, that was a tall order to stand against alone.

But he wasn’t.

Without hesitation, Chat came to his side and together, they braced themselves and blocked Gunmar’s charge. Chat Noir was definitely a slight figure, and his fighting style relied  _ very _ heavily on dexterity and maneuverability, but he was just as much (if not more so) physically enhanced by magic as Jim was. Standing there, locked in a battle of strength, though, was the strangest sound Jim never thought he’d hear on a battlefield.

A single, tiny, lonely little  _ beep. _ Followed by a sharp inhale by the hero at his side.

It was Chat that finally broke the lock, extending his staff down to the ground to give himself the leverage to shove Gunmar back and knock him off balance. 

"You're running out of time, aren't you?" Jim realized. He followed it with a roundhouse kick to send Gunmar tumbling and crashing away, giving them room to breathe a moment. Marinette had explained to him the basics of her transformation a number of times, limiting how much she could use the power of the Lucky Charm. Chat's Cataclysm was the same. Jim was suddenly very grateful they had thought to stock up on their refuel foods back at the house, but the most important thing right now was to get him away from Gunmar. "We need to get you out of here before it's too late, because I'm not even CLOSE to kidding when I say that he will  _ eat you alive." _

"Oh, I'm aware!” Chat replied, a little manic. “He has been going into GREAT detail about his purr-furred menu! I have to admit, actual finger sandwiches did make me laugh." 

Jim, despite himself, couldn't help but chuckle as well, though he did follow up by saying, "You know, I didn't think it was possible, but Ladybug really did undersell how crazy you are."

"I suppose I shall have to thank her, then!"

There was no more time for talk, though, as Gunmar returned with an infuriated roar and they were fighting in tandem once more. Jim was again pleasantly surprised at how well he and Chat worked together, tag-teaming, darting around each other to draw Gunmar’s attention to give the other an opening to strike. It was fueling his rage so much that he wasn’t even speaking  _ words _ , trollish or otherwise, as he just screamed and roared as his strikes were blocked and his grasping claws met air.

***

At one point, while Jim had Gunmar’s attention on him, Chat attempted to use the opportunity to flee, lofting himself into the air with his staff to gain distance when suddenly Gunmar backhanded Jim away and spun to Chat, knocking the pole out from underneath him to send the superhero crashing to the ground. Gunmar was on him in an instant, Chat barely using his retracted staff in time to catch the troll’s descending maw like a bit in a horse’s mouth. 

_ Dieu, _ but he was heavy! Magical superstrength did NOT mean Chat’s arms didn’t quiver under the massive  _ weight _ of three tonnes of rabidly furious man-eating troll.

Even as Gunmar  _ gnashed _ at the unbreakable staff, an image that would  _ definitely _ revisit Chat’s nightmares, one glowing claw lashed at his left side, slamming painfully hard and then  _ digging in. _

With an agonized scream, Chat’s arm under that side of his staff collapsed, Gunmar’s face jerking that much closer to wash rancid breath over his face and even force his own weapon to dig painfully under his chin while those obsidian claws did their damndest to test the limits of how impervious magical spandex really was to being punctured.

Almost lost under pained grunts and Gunmar’s evil chuckles, another pathetic _beep_ sounded out. This time, Gunmar’s eye flicked to the source, seeming to notice Chat’s ring for the first time. He couldn’t help but look himself and see, his heart leaping to his throat, THREE pads left.

_ Three minutes?! _

Suddenly Gunmar went  _ flying _ off and crashed into a pile of dead Gumm-Gumm statues, a snarling Jim replacing him over Chat’s prone body. He offered a hand to help Chat stand with a sharp gasp, then followed up, sword lifted high when Gunmar spun around with a…a sword? Before he could even recover from his shock, Jim was slammed across the chest, knocking him down and sending him rolling across the ground for several yards. He lifted his head in time to shout a warning. 

"Chat!"

He saw now, though, that it wasn't a sword that Gunmar held. It was a discarded Gumm-Gumm spear. It must have been laying far enough away from its owner when they died for it not to be turned to brittle stone with them. The spear flew and Chat barely managed to skid to a stop where it cut off his mad dash attempt to get away.

"I am really tired of having spears thrown at me today!" he wheezed, gripping one hand to his  _ definitely bruised _ left side. He would genuinely be surprised if he DIDN’T have a cracked rib.

"Hold still, then, so that I may end your miserable existence!"

"Not an improvement!"

Jim returned to assail Gunmar, keeping in his face, using his sword to strike about his head and keep his vision distracted. But Gunmar would not be swayed. Any opportunity he had a chance to grab one of Jim's limbs, he used it to fling the boy in the opposite direction and take off charging after Chat Noir. Though he was never quite able to grab on to Chat himself, as HE was spending all of his energy doing exactly the opposite, Gunmar continued to cut off his exits, knocking the staff off balance and bringing Chat to the ground anytime he attempted to use it to loft himself higher. And the one time he was successful, Gunmar simply leapt after him, which ended up causing the roof to collapse underneath both.

He didn't even have a moment enough to breathe (painfully) to check his baton for Claire's location tracker. He could really use a magic portal at that exact moment. Chat was unsettled by how rational Gunmar suddenly seemed again whereas before he had been nothing but a raging beast.

"You're running out of time, fleshbag," the Dark Underlord growled with deeply satisfied menace in his voice.

Chat realized with alarm the reason for the change; Gunmar had a goal, now. He was not so stupid as to hear them talk about a time limit, hear those repeated beeps from the ring, and not realize how it can be used to his advantage. Now he was buying time. Chat was seeing that the warlord was absolutely capable of showing the kind of patience needed where his rage had not sufficed before.

"How much longer to wait before I get to peel your skin off along with that armor?"

Traitorously, his ring gave another shrill little beep. Chat didn't dare look down at his hand to check how many paw prints were left. Because he knew. Even with how Gunmar had continued to harry and harass him, keeping all of his attention focused simply on staying alive, he still knew.

He was down to his last minute.

_...fine, then. _

With just a flick of green eyes over Gunmar’s shoulder, Chat’s stance changed from preparing to flee to suddenly charging straight at him. For his part, the troll couldn’t be more delighted, his claws ready to grab, rend, and tear. What he  _ wasn’t _ ready for, though, was Jim coming from behind to use Chat’s distraction to slash at his back. It was only the way that Gunmar lunged after Chat as he ducked into a slide around his left that saved him from what WOULD have been a fatal blow from the Eclipse Blade. Instead, the sword scraped and scored across the back of his right shoulder and elbow.

***

Gunmar let out a roar of frustrated pain, having to turn AGAIN from his desired quarry to face an increasingly annoying Trollhunter. 

“Your time will COME, Trollhunter!” His claws darted forward, snatching the edges of Jim’s pauldrons for handholds. “You have only to wait until I’ve had my FIRST meal!” With a spin, Gunmar  _ hurled _ Jim through the side of a partially collapsed building, causing the roof to cave in and bury him. Satisfied that had bought him time, Gunmar, turned in the direction the feline nuisance had fled. He was nowhere in sight, though, having taken the opportunity to hide instead of openly running away. Instead, Gunmar inhaled deeply through his nose, grinning evilly. “Oh, try to hide, fleshbag. The smell of your fear draws me like a sweet perfume.” With ponderous steps, he marched unerringly forward, following that tang of fear on the air and listening to the heavy breathing of a cornered creature in pain. He followed both to one of the human vehicles, where he could hear the hiss of breath just on the other side. Right as he slammed a claw down onto the roof, digging in for a handhold, he heard one last, despairing,  _ beep. _

Flinging the car away, Gunmar watched with wicked anticipation as the scrawny fleshbag was swept by green sparks, leaving behind no ears, no mask, and no  _ armor. _

“Human flesh it is, then,” he growled, satisfied.

And OH,  _ there _ was that terror, bright and sharp and  _ delicious _ amid the smells of death and smoke on the battlefield. That impertinent mouth was even struck wordless against his impending doom. Instead he just cowered there, one hand clutching at his left side, the other one held to his chest like he was cradling something small.

"I tried," said a quiet, tiny voice, raspy and unfamiliar and seeming to come from the boy's hand. "I tried to hold it out longer."

"I know, Plagg," the fleshbag whispered back, eyes never leaving the troll while pushing with his feet to scoot backward and away, but Gunmar simply took pleasure in following after, step by lumbering step. He knew, though, that the Trollhunter would be recovering irritatingly soon. He could not drag this out for as long as he wanted. "Take the ring and go. Tell Ladybug everything."

"There is no escape, foolish child," Gunmar rumbled. Savoring the last breaths of delicious terror-

"All will die  _ toNIGHT!" _

-the Skullcrusher  _ swung. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry, I kept going back and forth over if this was going to be a super long chapter this time because I’m already late and I didn’t want to break this scene up AGAIN and add more chapters, or if I should just put out what I finally HAD, and then I realized what a great stopping place that was, so…¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> I couldn’t resist having Chat take a jab at Gunmar for his horns; Clancy Brown voices both Gunmar and Surtur in Thor: Ragnarok, and the horns/crown/really big eyebrows parallel was just TOO good to resist.  
> Also, I, uh...I didn’t mean to hurt Chat that badly. Whoops. That was not part of the plan. It’s just that one thing led to another and...eheheheh...


	29. Burning Brightest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion of a war is momentous, and, well, we know how awesome Jim is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My brain: Let’s do 98% of a thing and love every second of it!  
> Me: Okay, cool! Now let’s finish up the last 2% to end this fic!  
> My brain: Lol, wut? Pffft! As if!  
> Me: *taking out a bat* Hard way it is, then.  
> Seriously, though, it is EMBARRASSING how much of this chapter I already had written. This entire first chunk was gonna be part of last chapter, remember? And the end? I’ve had written for MONTHS and only needed minimal tweaking. But the freaking middle refused to cooperate. So I’m very sorry for the delay and the serious departure from my normal update schedule.  
> Now let’s do this!

Pain  _ exploded _ across his torso, fire lighting up one side, and then in fits and spurts as his shoulders and hips and elbows met asphalt from tumbling over and over across the ground.

But better his stony hide and armored shell, though, than Chat Noir's distinctly human flesh and civilian clothes.

Jim had managed to dig himself out of the rubble of what had once been a record store, having to wriggle out from underneath several tons of brick and lumber. Emerging out into the open didn't give him any clue as to where Gunmar and Chat had gone. It was only when he heard the shriek of ripping metal and the crash of something heavy being thrown that gave him a clue, sending him desperately tearing off in that direction.

_ Please let me be in time! _

Even leaping forward on all fours, the fastest his new body was able to go, Jim came upon the scene with his heart lodged in his throat. Gunmar was standing over a figure on the ground, every ounce of his posture powerful and gloating. Meanwhile, all Jim could see of the blonde beneath him was a teenage kid without a speck of black spandex.

_ The transformation timed out, _ his brain helpfully supplied the obvious. Even more obvious, though, was Gunmar lifting one claw, drawing it back to make what would most assuredly be a killing blow on a defenseless human body. The kind of thing that was going to turn Chat Noir's organs into a smear of jelly.

Jim made one last desperate  _ leap _ to get between them, instinctively going to protect Chat Noir's body with his own instead of trying to knock Gunmar off course once more. His arms wrapped around Chat's shoulders right as Gunmar's swing connected, Jim's mind halfway through mentally apologizing because there was no way being tackled by an armored half troll wasn’t going to hurt, for all that he would survive it more than Gunmar's unprotected strike.

The hit sent them both flying, Jim instinctively tucking himself around the more fragile human body that got sent with him. The furious roar that receded into the distance spoke of the warlord's displeasure at being interrupted once more, but it also meant they had been thrown quite a distance. Finally they rolled to a stop, Jim still caging Chat with his limbs, although he had ended up on top, bracing his weight above the human. Knowing they had little time before Gunmar would follow up, Jim quickly sat back and looked down at Chat Noir, ready to urge him to escape, but he was startled into silence when he saw a face he had never expected to recognize.

Because he DID recognize Chat's face, sans the black mask. He had been involved in FAR too many conversations with Marinette to not recognize the one and only Adrien Agrest.

Adrien, who was very much groaning in pain, eyes clenched tight, though he held both hands protectively to his chest, doing what he could to keep his kwami safe. Jim very nearly blurted out something damning before he heard the thunderous rhythm of a charging troll. Instead, he scrambled up, summoning the Eclipse Blade to his hand and could only shout,  _ "GO!" _

***

Adrien heard that shout, as much a guttural roar as it was a spoken word, with the background rumble of charging feet to snap his eyes open in panic. Everything  _ hurt, _ but there was something to be said for being able to FEEL hurt versus being dead entirely. He pushed through the pain as much as he was able, using one hand to push himself up and then scramble to his feet while still holding Plagg safe to his chest. Once upright, he tucked the kwami into the school bag that had reappeared with the detransformation, using one hand to catch his balance against walls as he stumbled over broken rubble and moved away as quickly as he could while using the other to hold tightly to his desperately screaming flank. One glance behind him told him Jim was fighting as furiously as Gunmar, the two of them a frenzy of clanging metal and stone.

"Adrien-" He heard Plagg start to say from inside the bag.

“No talking! Just eating!" the boy gasped as he stumbled around the corner of an alleyway to find the heavy door of an unlocked service entrance to hide inside. With luck (the good kind) it would be enough to keep Gunmar from literally sniffing him out again. "He needs me!” With a groan, he leaned against the closed door of what seemed to be an employee break room, resisting the urge to slump to the floor. If he sat down again, getting up would be SO much harder. He lifted his shirts to take a look at the damage and hissed. There was no blood, the suit had stood up to being pierced after all, but there was already the promise of technicolor bruising all across his left side with purple-black markings beginning to bloom in one large patch right at the side and in four points, one on his front and three on his back where Gunmar had first hit and then gripped him.

He had been beaten and battered around by akuma plenty of times in the past. Hell, throwing vehicles at him was one of their favorite pastimes. But nothing had ever been quite so sadistically concentrated on his pain as this had been. Quite so intent on bodily destruction over the desire to simply take his Miraculous. 

Gunmar was apparently a very special brand of villain.

"When you're ready to transform again," he did his best to keep the strain out of his voice, "if you could give me a little extra support around my ribs, that would be much appreciated."

Plagg came out of the bag, just finishing stuffing the last of Jim’s stilton cheese in his mouth. “When we're done here,” he said, surprisingly serious, “promise me you’ll tell Ladybug.” Adrien immediately opened his mouth to disagree, but his kwami talked over him. “Promise me! She can heal you with her Lucky Charm and there are  _ all kinds _ of good reasons for you NOT to run around with a broken rib. Not the LEAST of which is saving yourself from a punctured lung. Saving your pride or trying not to worry her- and she will DEFINITELY find out if you try to hide it, even if I have to tell her myself! -are  _ terrible _ reasons to stay badly hurt.”

“But it’s not that-” he tried to start weakly.

“It  _ is. That. Bad!” _ Plagg insisted. “Promise me!” he snapped, shockingly uncharacteristic.

“I…” Adrien stared at his kwami’s stern face, seeing the actual  _ predator _ he represented for the first time in his normally lackadaisical manner. It was a sobering reminder. “I promise. I’ll tell Ladybug I’m hurt once we get a chance to stop and breathe.”

Plagg squinted at him, assessing, before finally scoffing, “Good enough, I guess. Now get ready and clench your teeth so you don’t bite off anything important; this transformation is going hurt because I’m going to have to bind your ribs as best as I can.”

With  _ that _ comforting thought, Adrien took a breath, deep as he was able, and said through gritted teeth, “Plagg!  _ Transforme-moi!” _

The little god of destruction was  _ right, _ it HURT like a transformation never had before, but after the initial wave of  _ searing _ pressure, leaving him gasping for air, Chat felt that pressure become steadying. Something about the structure of his suit had changed, from flexible to his midsection being more stiff and...actually, it felt a great deal like that time he had worn a corset vest for a photoshoot. There was a firm, structured pressure that was still flexible enough to give him movement, but it made him thoughtful of how he DID move, so he didn’t mindlessly twist or bend to cause further damage. Laying a careful hand over his left side, the material didn’t have as much give as normal, like there was actual armor plating hidden underneath. He felt a lot better about it, but as his magically enhanced hearing returned, the shouts and roars and crashes from outside told him it was time to get back into the fray.

With another bracing breath (this one being slightly easier for all that it was more controlled) Chat went back outside and followed the noise to see what mayhem he could possibly help with or even cause.

***

Now that Chat finally seemed to have escaped to safety- 

_ Just keep thinking of him as Chat. You don't have time to unpack the whole ADRIEN thing. _

-and Gunmar had been denied the immediate target of his intense ire, Jim was faced alone with the fury of the warlord having been twice foiled and never a better moment to  _ eviscerate _ the Trollhunter. And even without his primary weapon, he was still a  _ terrifyingly _ fearsome opponent.

Even so, Jim was very tired of being thrown around like a rag doll. Why is it that without something sharp and pointy to stab him with, Gunmar's preferred method of attack was just to throw him at buildings? Was this revenge for the first time Jim did the throwing?

All in all, a lot of really dumb thoughts flying through his head while he was flying through the air.

There was a sudden burst of glowing red energy from his armor an instant before his back slammed against a wall. His whole body throbbed with pain, the back of his head creating its own crater in the brick, his horns punching even deeper in. Jim wasn't sure if he blacked out for a moment or if Gunmar really was that quick, but when he opened his eyes and peered through the dust of building demolition (in addition to realizing how high up he was) there is no sign of the warlord in the plaza below. Making a quick grab at a ledge and then leaping for the eaves, Jim pulled himself up onto the clay tile roof of the museum, constantly turning to try and find his enemy.

An  _ explosion _ of noise and debris burst behind him, Jim spinning and stumbling a bit on the uneven sloped surface to realize that Gunmar had burst upward from the inside of the museum, coming down with his fists clenched together in a massive overhead slam that Jim barely managed to deflect in time. "You wear a troll’s armor!" He struck once, twice, Jim parrying away both. "Now you share our skin!” The third was a slash at his face that actually clawed him from temple to chin and sent him flying, clattering across the shingles until he could open his eyes and realize how close to the edge he was. Gunmar stopped to inspect that claw, seeing the traces of blood he had come away with. "But inside, you still bleed red!" 

Jim rolled to his back to bring his sword to bear, but before he could try to attack or roll out of the way, Gunmar’s foot stomped heavily on his chest.

"The age of man has ended," he said with supreme smugness. He took his time leaning down, savoring the way he had Jim pinned like a bug, squirming and crying out in pain. "You would have been my first human slave," he said as he reached forward to wrap one gigantic claw around Jim's throat, the points digging in at the back where they met. "But without that, it still gives me great pleasure to prove how futile Merlin and his pet Trollhunters have always been with yours being the next in a long line of their  _ deaths." _

He emphasized the last word by suddenly clenching his fist, squeezing tight around Jim's throat, cutting off not just his air, but also blood flow to his brain. It very quickly caused a horrifying fuzz of panic as he struggled to swing his sword, to kick his legs, to do  _ anything _ to dislodge his enemy. But Gunmar used his spare hand to pin down Jim's arm to keep him from using the sword. Nothing else he did could possibly threaten even as his other hand clawed and scrabbled at the fist around his throat, desperately trying to pry it off.

It felt like his brain was undergoing its own eclipse, vision going dark at the edges and moving inward. He could even hear his friends in the distance shouting in alarm. His desperate brain latched onto their voices and he was suddenly recalling all of the hope and faith in confidence they had in him.

_ "Your heart is stronger than you know." _

_ “We protect each other.” _

_ “It’s like you leveled up!” _

_ “It has been my honor, fleshbag.” _

_ “See? There you go. Burning brightest.” _

The hand that had been futilely scrabbling at Gunmar's clenched fist suddenly seemed to find purchase where before there had been none. His armored fingers dug into one of the claws and began prying it away, his gauntlet seeming to glow a brighter red.

Distantly, through the roaring in his ears, Jim heard the echoing ticking of clockwork.

The heartbeat of the Amulet, ready to fight with him.

Using his grip to pry the fingers away from his throat just enough to exchange a gasp of air, Jim screamed his defiance.

“In their darkest hour, I!  _ Burn! BRIGHTEST!” _

There was a burst of red light, starting at his chest, then flowing outward over his armor to his hands, lending strength to keep pulling Gunmar’s claw away from his neck. The warlord panicked and released Jim’s sword arm to try and throttle him with both hands, but Jim caught it before he could, then Gunmar was shouting in shocked pain. Jim’s grip on him was spreading sun-stains with the power of  _ Daylight _ bursting from every inch.

“What? NO!”

With a furious roar, Jim used his grip on Gunmar's claws to  _ shove _ the troll away, sending him stumbling back several steps. Jim rolled to his feet before his foe had a chance to recover, summoning the Eclipse Blade once more.

Gunmar was weaponless, and even when he'd had the Trollhunter helpless in his claw, he had failed to kill him. He had failed, and he knew it, and he panicked.

Gunmar charged with a furious roar, one claw raised for a powerful swing, but he was no longer a match for Jim Lake, the Trollhunter, wielding the Eclipse Blade with focused and deadly precision.

Gunmar charged.

Jim slashed.

"It cannot be!"

"It  _ IS." _

***

Chat Noir had seen a LOT of cool things in his life, as both a civilian and a superhero, but watching Jim, the Trollhunter, clad in black armor and bursting with glowing red power, slice through a three-tonne troll warlord and then Sparta-kick him off the roof of a museum was  _ pretty _ high up there on the list. Probably up near the same place as seeing that same Trollhunter slice through a flying freight truck in mid-air. 

Chat had made his way out of his hiding spot to get back into the action, but emerged into the square across from the museum to see the figure of Gunmar looming over the glowing red light of what had to be Jim. Chat actually needed to do a double take to make sure it wasn't Ladybug, for all that the glowing red magic was very similar.

Before he could intervene, though, even as he ran forward with his staff in hand to join Jim's friends below, Chat watched as Gunmar was forced back and Jim came to his feet for a single frozen moment before the two combatants charged together and Chat could only stop to watch with bated breath.

Then Gunmar came crashing to the ground, shattering upon impact and pieces of him flying in all directions. Though it hadn’t been a tremendously personal fight for him (aside from being a prized item on the troll's dinner menu) his sharp ears had still heard Jim dedicate the victory to someone named "Drawl," which was clearly important to him. And Chat was still very relieved to see a totality to the defeat. There was something satisfying to know that your villain wouldn’t come back another day, in another shape, to wreak even more havoc. 

_ Actually, speaking of… _

While Jim’s friends met him on the ground to celebrate the victory, Chat meeting his eyes long enough for relief to pass over Jim's face, the superhero pulled out his baton to pop open the screen and check a Parisian news feed, and then the Ladyblog. He’d been doing it off and on whenever he had a chance to breathe during the fight to just keep an eye on things back home, though he HAD been a touch distracted for the last little bit. Call him paranoid, but as a scion of bad luck, he thought it would be prudent to make sure Papillon didn’t conveniently choose to unleash one of his more  _ destructive _ akumas while they were away, whether he knew that fact or not. Things had been pretty quiet for most of the fight, which he had been grateful for, able to put that much more energy into taking out Gumm-Gumms and rescuing civilians, but it finally seemed as though Ladybug’s brand of luck had run out. Or, at least, it went out with one final burst of excellent timing. With Gunmar defeated, he’d taken out the rest of his army with him. That was the job done, right? Which meant this was the best time to start a NEW fight on the other side of the planet. His ribs may have disagreed with that idea, but he didn't have too much choice.

_ “Mademoiselle _ Claire,” he called as he approached the group that had clustered around Jim. “My Lady and I will be needing a getaway soon.” They all looked at him in alarm but he gave them a reassuring grin, “I just got the news that we’ve got an akuma in Paris. Nothing major so far, they haven’t done anything yet, but Ladybug and I ought to go. I’m going to call her now,” he said even as he tapped at his baton. When she picked up, she was breathing rhythmically and hard, like she was running. He cut to the chase, “My Lady! Gunmar is defeated, but there’s news of an akuma in Paris. We need to go!”

“Gunmar may be taken care of,” she panted out, “but Morgana’s not! I’m almost to your location!”

The false ears on top of his head still pricked and swiveled, zeroing in on where he heard her last words out loud and not from his baton. Spinning around, he saw her rounding the corner of the next building over to enter the plaza where they stood. “Ladybug!” he called, drawing the other’s attention to her. 

Behind him, he could hear Tobias asking, “Um, not to be a total buzz-kill, but why is the night still all eclipse-y?”

“It didn’t work,” Ladybug burst out as she got close enough to them, leaning over to pant a little. “I couldn’t restore the Heartstone or stop the spell, and Morgana was prepared to face Merlin. She’s too powerful!” Worried gasps went through the group. "Some troll-ghost sent me ahead to warn you, but they won’t hold her back long!” 

“We’ll take care of it,” Jim said firmly, causing both superheroes to look at him in surprise. “And you need to go.”

“Wait, Jim, no-” Ladybug started to protest, but he held up a hand, shaking his head.

“No, we had a deal. We knew you two were only gonna be on loan for a little while, and we just heard it’s now your cue to leave. Besides that, it’s like Merlin said before, we can’t risk you facing Morgana directly and have her realizing you hold Miraculous gems.” Ladybug bit her lip, clearly wanting to argue but couldn’t come up with a reason. Chat Noir placed one hand on her shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. “Besides!” Jim lifted one arm to gesture around the square at the rubble of fallen Gumm-Gumms, “the army is taken care of! If it’s just Morgana, the five of us Trollhunters can take her on, no sweat.” He stepped closer, looking back and forth between the two of them, “I can’t  _ tell _ you how much it means to me- to  _ us! _ -that you came when I called. Literally! There’s no way I can repay what you've done-" he cast a significant look to Chat as he said that, "-but I’m not going to let that debt pile up even higher by holding you back from protecting your  _ own _ people in Paris. Go.” He finished sternly, locking blue eyes with Ladybug before she finally let out a gust of breath and nodded.

_ “D’accord! _ But!” she thrust a finger up suddenly, nearly jabbing Jim in the face, “ONE of you is going to text me when it’s all over!” Jim was going a little cross-eyed, trying to keep her very pointy finger in view even as he held his hands up in surrender. “I’m  _ serious! _ Someone- or  _ everyone, _ I don’t actually care! -is going to tell me when everything is over and you all are okay!” Now she was swinging her finger around to single out Claire, Toby, and finally Blinky. “Promise?”

She got a hasty round of agreements before she nodded, satisfied. Putting her finger down, she seemed to debate for a second before throwing herself at Jim to hug him around the middle. He startled at first, before returning the hug with a tight squeeze around her shoulders. 

(They didn’t notice Claire taking out her phone to snap a picture of the friends. Or Tobias edging around them to pull Chat Noir into a quick selfie. Fortunately, smiling through pain was something he was very practiced at.)

“Be careful,” Jim said to her as they let go.

“You too!” she replied, “And good luck!” she added with a wink. Then she turned away to hug Claire while Chat Noir stepped up to clasp Jim’s hand in a firm grip.

"I tell you what, I don't think anyone else in the world is ever going to top a first impression like this. You guys are second only to Ladybug herself!” Chat said with a smile. “Hopefully with all this over it will mean you’ll stop worrying her to distraction!”

“Hey!” she protested from where she, too, was taking a selfie with Tobias.

“Thank you again,” Jim told him with all sincerity. “You especially didn’t have to come, not knowing anything about all of this, but you did anyway. That means a whole lot.” Maybe a little overcome, Jim tightened his grip on Chat’s hand to pull him into a careful one-armed hug around the shoulders, which the blonde firmly returned. “And I promise,” he whispered in a low rumble, being so tall that it went straight into Chat's cat-like ear, “I won’t say anything to her, about who you are.”

Shocked, Chat pulled away to meet Jim’s earnest gaze, realizing what he meant. Of course, he had seen Adrien’s civilian face, but what he’d just said implied that Jim actually  _ knew _ the face of Adrien Agrest. Something told him it wasn’t from French fashion ads. Thankfully, he was saved from having to respond.

“It was the greatest of honors to meet you both,  _ Mademoiselle _ Ladybug, and  _ Monsieur _ Chat Noir,” Blinky was saying expansively. “And most especially to have you fight by our sides! I dearly hope we shall have the chance to meet again in happier circumstances!”

“Me too, Blinky,” Ladybug replied with a smile and a little wave.

“Okay,” Claire said, readying her staff. “I’m going to try and put you back out the same place you came in from, but, uh…” she cringed a little. “Maybe look before you leap?” And then there was a swirl of black and purple energy before them. 

Chat stepped up to it, started to bend at the waist before he thought better of it and just stuck his head through, tail flicking back and forth, giving a thumbs-up just a moment later. Standing straight, he backed up a few paces. “The top of the tower is just a couple meters beyond. Easy jump! Ready, My Lady?”

Ladybug nodded, also backing up to match him. With one last wave to the assembled Trollhunters, she said, “Be safe and good luck!” before dashing forward into the portal, back to Paris.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s a tiny section of this that I actively hate, but until I can think of a way to make it better, I’ve just gotta get the damn thing posted because I’m feeling more guilty every day for delaying. But mark my words, when I figure out how to fix it, I will be coming back to edit.  
> But y’all. Y’ALL. I _agonized_ over how I was going to make it work, bringing Ladybug and Chat Noir to Arcadia. The gyre station is out of commission, and they couldn’t stay until the end of the fight with Morgana, because Claire’s staff gets destroyed! And OhShitMyShip made an EXCELLENT point that Ladybug and Chat can’t be AWOL from Paris for too long. So, um...yeah! Convenient akuma as a distraction! I needed to kick them out of the Trollhunter fight in that brief moment of downtime between Gunmar’s defeat and Morgana showing up (again, me conveniently stretching these moments of time, whoops!), or otherwise they were NEVER gonna make it home. At least, not without a humongous logistical headache for me to figure out, lol!  
> Anyway! Now we’ve just got the epilogue left! I actually wrote a LOT of what happens with Chat and Ladybug in Paris after they go through the portal (gotta deal with that akuma!) but it felt like too much of a divergence from THIS fic to keep them together. This felt too much like an ending to keep going, you know? So instead, I’ll be creating another fic and adding these together into a collection. Keep an eye out for that, if you like!  
> (I’ve also got a third and a half idea for some nonsense that takes place even AFTER Wizards, but that doesn’t have nearly as much written yet. This crossover universe is just TOO much fun!)


End file.
